Promise of a lifetime
by King of slackers
Summary: As we all know, Naruto fails to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. After he himself vows never to return until his promise is kept, how far will he go to get his friend back?
1. A Double Defection

Hey there. So this is just a little idea I had that I felt like I should run with. It's just a little blurb of an intro, and I plan to work on it some more. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this and hope you like it.

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The Valley of the End is a majestic place, a place of legend. Its waters, like time itself, have flowed gracefully by, bearing silent witness to the actions of the world around it. It is said that the 1st and 2nd Hokages had fought a fierce battle within its towering granite walls, their blood spilling into the hallowed river that courses into the ocean. But eventually, perhaps inevitably, the ocean current leads the water back to the mouth of the river from whence it came, leaving it free to surge through the valley once more.

No one really knows how the valley got its name. For one person, though, it was perfectly named. It had been the ending of a friendship, the ending of a rivalry. The ending of his life as he knew it. In most cases, the end is absolute: unalterable. But this particular person didn't know how to give up, and he couldn't just leave the situation as it was. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and he would fight against all odds to get his friend back. This wasn't the end for him and Sasuke. He wouldn't let it be the end.

He struggled to his feet, his body bruised and aching. Seeing his friend's, his brother's Konoha headband discarded on the ground next to him only added to the immense feeling of defeat that he was already feeling. His left arm, which went numb during the fight, was now pulsing with pain, and he could barely walk.

"Damnit! I have to…catch up with him…"

It was no use, however. He could only manage to take a few steps before collapsing. He strained his neck, looking up at the two Hokages. He didn't know what it was, but it was a sight that made him feel small and helpless. He didn't want to move anymore. He just stayed there, basking in the enormity of his failure. An image of Sakura's sad face flashed in his mind. He had remembered what he said to her.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! Sasuke would never join that bastard. He doesn't have to since he's already really strong! I guarantee it."

He had been wrong. He had guaranteed her that it wouldn't happen, but it did. It was the first time in his life that something he had promised had been broken. Guaranteeing that Sasuke wouldn't leave was the same as giving his word. But he had broken his promise, a promise that he had given the one he loved more than anyone else. He remembered a distraught Sakura pouring out her feelings to him, begging him to get Sasuke back for her. And once again, he promised her that he would. Yet here he was, and Sasuke was gone. The image lingered, Sakura's sad, crying face.

"_No way…_" he thought. "_No way am I going to break my promise to her! I'll get Sasuke back if it's the last thing I do!_"

He got to his feet. He had only now just realized that it was raining, his feet beginning to sink in the mud. Cursing, he trudged forward, carrying the burden of a promise on his shoulders.

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Kakashi and Pakkun hurried to the Valley of The End.

"You sure they're this way?" Kakashi asked.

"No mistaking it, although the rain has cleaned their scents, this was the last direction I sensed them," said the small ninja dog.

Kakashi blamed himself for this. His words to Sasuke about vengence had obviously gone unheard. The way Naruto and Sasuke had fought on top of the hospital roof, he should have foreseen this.

"_Forgive me, Sasuke…Naruto…"_ he apologized in his thoughts

"_God, please, don't let me be too late…"_

He could see the clearing up ahead, and he ran towards it. Pakkun right behind him, the two of them emerged from the trees in a dead sprint. Kakashi stopped, in shock.

"This…this is…"

Pakkun finished his thoughts for him. "Looks like there was one hell of a fight here."

Parts of the valley wall had been completely destroyed, and in some areas the ground seemed scorched, with hot embers still visible mixed within the rocks.

"Sasuke's fire jutsu…"

Kakashi jumped down into the valley, frantically searching for any sign of his students. He found none.

"Where could they have gone?"

With a whistle, all of his faithful dog companions were at his side in an instant.

"Do any of you have their location?" he asked hopefully.

He watched as they all shook their heads.

"Damnit!" he yelled in frustration. He fell to his knees, pounding the soft earth with both fists.

"No, they have to be here!" He got back up and ordered his dogs to search once more. "Leave no stone unturned, search the whole area!"

They did as he asked, but after a half hour of searching the two genin were nowhere to be seen.

"You're not looking hard enough!" he yelled at them, "what a worthless bunch of mutts you are!"

"Kakashi…that's enough. We must accept the fact that they are not here, and return to Konoha to report to Godaime."

Kakashi sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry Pakkun. I just feel like if I stop looking, I'll be leaving them behind…"

With his head drooped low, he turned around and headed back to the village hidden in the leaves.

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Sakura waited at the hospital anxiously. The medical team they had sent out to find the group that had went after Sasuke had already returned. With the exception of Shikamaru, all of them were in bad shape. Both Tsunade and Shizune had their hands full trying to recuperate them. Sakura was worried about the others, but mostly she worried about her two teammates. She had seen the way they both fought each other on the roof. That time, they were really beating each other up, and even resorted to using jutsu that could have killed one another. If Kakashi hadn't been there to stop it… she didn't even want to think about what would have happened. Ino, her long time rival and friend, was also quite worried. Her teammate Chouji was in a critical state of health.

"Hey, you two," called a familiar voice from across the room, "don't like so worried. It's as if you're already planning their funeral already."

It was Lee. He had run off to help the group, but had comeback with minor injuries along with the Sand ninja.

"Chouji is being treated by Tsunade-sama herself, the one who defied all odds and was able to make me fight again, even when all other doctors told me it was impossible."

Ino looked a little more cheered up, and Lee turned to Sakura.

"Naruto-kun is an excellent ninja, and won't be beaten so easily. I'm sure he and Sasuke-kun are on their way here now.

"Thanks, Lee-san."

At that moment, Kakashi entered through the main doors of the hospital. All three of them rushed to him.

"Did you find them?" Sakura asked desperately.

Kakashi looked down at his student. She was the only one left…team 7 was no more.

"If you want to know, follow me. I'm about to go give my report to Tsunade-sama."

She glanced sideways at Lee and Ino, who urged her to go along with him.

"Tell us everything later," Ino whispered to Sakura as she and Kakashi walked off.

In the emergency room, Tsunade was feeling absolutely exhausted.

"We did it!" said the medical ninja, giving her an update. "Chouji Akimichi is in stable condition!"

"Phew…" was all she could say as she leaned backward into her chair, every inch of her being was drained of energy.

"That's good to hear."

Tsunade turned to see Kakashi and Sakura standing there.

"So what's the news? How are Sasuke and Naruto?"

"The truth is…I don't know."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up at her sensei. Tsunade, despite being worn out, leapt from her chair and demanded an explaination.

"Pakkun and I tracked them as far as the Valley of the End. When we got there, there were signs of a massive battle, but neither one was still around. And since the rain covered their tracks…" his voice trailed off.

"Then, we don't know where either of them are, or what happened to them?" The Fifth Hokage looked extremely concerned. Sakura was dreading the answer.

"The only thing we can say for sure," he said, "is that Naruto caught up to Sasuke, and they fought. Who won, what happened after that…we have no idea of knowing. They're simply…gone."

"_Sasuke and Naruto. Both of them. Gone?"_ Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She ran out of the room, tears falling down her face.

Kakashi closed his eyes tightly. He had let them all down. All of them. His three students, who depended on him, he had let them down. Tsunade cursed. She had no idea whether Sasuke had made it to Orochimaru. She had no idea what happened, period. For all she knew, Sasuke was with her old teammate right now, planning the destruction of Konoha. But, above all else, she was worried about the little runt who had put his life on the line for her. He had put his dreams in jeopardy just to prove to her that he was capable of becoming Hokage. The boy had grown on her, and reminded her of both her old love and her brother.

"_Naruto…" _she thought, _"wherever you are, please be okay."_

Sakura just kept on running. She ran past Lee and Ino in the lobby, ignoring their calls to her. She just ran. She had no idea where she was going. Usually, when she felt bad, she could turn to Naruto, but he wasn't here. Her one and only love, Sasuke, was wasn't here. She felt like her world was falling apart around her. She was just taking random turns onto various streets, she didn't know where she was anymore. Out of breath, she stopped, but her tears still fell. People just watched her as she fell on her knees, sobbing. Covering her face, she wailed into her hands even louder, screaming out at the world, her soul burning in pain, her heart in a million pieces.


	2. Going too Far

Hi there. Well, here's the second chapter. So far, 2 people have left reviews for me on the first chapter. Now I know this story hasn't been out that long, but I just wanted to say thanks to those 2 people. This one is for you, guys. Hope this new addition doesn't make you change your opinion about the story :)

Anyway, this chapter kinda skips to Sakura and Sasuke, but it mostly focuses on Naruto. Just like in chapter one, this chapter ends with someone running and crying. I'm original, aren't I?

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After a good night's sleep, Naruto's injuries were as good as healed. He stood on a hilltop overlooking the crowded streets of a city. It was a nice place, almost as big as Konoha. He wondered what all of his friends were doing. Chouji. Kiba. Shikamaru. Neji. Fuzzy eyebrows. Had they all made it back safely? Kakashi, Ero-sannin, Old Lady Tsunade. Were they still looking for him? But most of all, he thought about Sakura. Then again, he always thought about her. He just couldn't get her desperate face, tears flooding down her cheeks as she begged him to bring Sasuke back.

"The only person who can bring him back is…Naruto…only you."

He clinched his fists._"No matter what,"_ he thought, _"I'll get Sasuke back and make her smile again." _

He started down the hill towards the city. He had already ran through the checklist of things to do a thousand times in his mind. First and foremost, he needed basic essentials such as food and water, as well as a pack large enough to carry everything but small enough not to slow him down dramatically. He needed some new clothes. He would be instantly recognizable by any Leaf ninja if he was wearing the clothes he had on now. He had already discarded his Konoha headband into his pocket. He couldn't afford to be seen with it by any of the locals if his friends came looking for him here. But, he also didn't want to have them thinking he was dead.

He walked through the streets, searching for stores that sold the things he needed. Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes staring at a huge sign that read "_World's Best Ramen"_. He started to drool when the smell of freshly cooked noodles reached his nose. But he shook himself out of it.

_"No! I have to buy what I need first, then I can eat!" _But he breathed in another whiff of the delicious fragrance.

_"But, it smells…so…good…"_ He slapped himself back to reality. _"If I pig out and eat here, I might not have enough money to buy everything I need!"_

The owner of the Ramen shop watched from behind the counter at the strange blonde-haired kid standing in the street. When the boy had caught sight of his shop, he started to walk towards it. But then he stopped, only to start heading towards it again a few seconds later. Then, the kid slapped himself hard enough to make his cheek bright pink, and now he was slowly shuffling his feet away from the bar. What the hell was he doing? The man turned to check on his cooking Ramen. When he turned around again, the boy was once more walking to him, his steps small and slow. Just as he reached the stool and was about to sit down, he took off sprinting down the street screaming, "No, I can't!!"

"Weird kid," said one of his customers, who had also been watching the boy.

"Yeah," replied the chef, "he must drive his parents crazy."

After his little incident, Naruto went and bought everything he needed except for his clothes. He was now in a shop, browsing their outfits. The shopkeeper patiently waited as he went from one rack to the other.

"You guys got anything in orange, lady?" he called.

"No, sorry."

He kept on searching through the clothes, when suddenly he came across a long cloak. It was light tan in color, and it had a big hood. He tried it on. The bottom reached all the way down to his calf, and when he wore the hood it hid his eyes. It was a perfect disguise. He bought it along with a pair of black pants. Out in the alley, he threw his old clothes in the dumpster. He put on his new pants and slung his cloak over his shoulders and around his back. It covered his entire body. If it were black, didn't have a hood, and had red clouds on it, it would be exactly like the Akatsuki robes.

"_This is something that Shino would wear"_ thought Naruto to himself.

Pleased with his disguise, he headed out of the alley, but right when he turned the corner, he ran into someone. The impact was enough to knock both of them off their feet.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto got up and offered his hand to the stranger.

"I'm fine. It takes more than a freak in an alley to stop a courier ninja from delivering his packages!" said the man.

"Whaddya mean, freak!" Naruto yelled, his fist raised in anger. "Wait, did you say courier ninja? What is that?"

"That's correct. I am a courier ninja. People hire us to make deliveries for them."

"I see. Well can you deliver something for me? It's important."

"We, the courier ninja, cannot refuse a person in need of our services!" claimed the man.

Seeing his opportunity, Naruto gave the man his package for delivery.

"I'll see to it that this package makes it to its destination quickly and safely!" said the courier, who took off running.

Naruto watched as the man disappeared in the crowd down the street. "Now," he said rubbing his stomach, "where's that ramen stand?"

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Sasuke entered the dimly lit room. He could barely see the outline of the man sitting on the far side.

"Sasuke-kun. You were wise to come here. No one can give you the power that I can."

"Naruto," Sasuke blurted out, "he has a power that rivals the 2nd stage curse mark. What is it?"

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. When I'm done training you, that nuisance will be an ant for you to step on. And so will your brother, Itachi."

At the mere mention of his name, Sasuke's eyes grew red with murder.

"Fufufu…I can see you are as eager as ever to kill him." Orochimaru said, in his creepy, snake-like voice. "Tell me now, Sasuke-kun. Are you willing to do anything to see your brother dead?"

"Yes."

A sinister grin grew across Orochimaru's face. "Then come, I have much to teach you."

Orochimaru rose and led the way out of the room. Sasuke, his silent shadow, followed him out. He would follow Orochimaru anywhere, as long as in the end he saw his brother's lifeless, bloody corpse on the floor below him, just as Itachi had once stood over the bodies of his dead parents. Revenge. That's all he had now. That's all he needed. It was the only thing he ever wanted since that fateful day. He lived vengeance. Breathed vengeance.

"_I AM vengeance"_ he thought coldly. The two of them continued down the long, dark corridor, their footsteps echoing out into the emptiness. But not only that, Sasuke could hear the footsteps inside of him, reverberating into the vast emptiness that filled his stone heart.

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Sakura was in her room, where she had been since the day before. Her parents and friends were worried about her. She hadn't eaten anything since she heard the news. In truth, she didn't feel like eating. She didn't feel like moving. She felt helpless. Sakura had all but laid her feelings for Sasuke at his feet, and yet he refused to stay. Then, when she had no one else to turn to, she broke down crying in front of Naruto, begging for him to bring Sasuke back. Now because of her, he was gone as well. She was pathetic. The one she loved unconditionally rejected her affection. The one who tried so hard to win her affection had grown to be the person that she was most comfortable around and understood her most. She had always been a burden to them. They always had to save her on missions. She never did anything for them in return. Sasuke was lost in the darkness of his past, and she was unable to help him. Naruto was selfless and helped her whenever she needed it. She relied on him for everything. And now…

She sat up. This is what had caused everything in the first place. She always cried, not strong enough to face her own problems, so her two teammates had to come and save her every time. But crying like this wouldn't bring them back. Her teammates needed her now, and she would give it her all to help them. She looked out her window. Somewhere out there, Sasuke and Naruto needed her.

"_It's about time I paid you guys back for everything you've done for me."_

She picked up the picture of the three of them together with Kakashi. It was the day that they had first become a team. Laying around crying wouldn't help them, but of course she couldn't help but feel depressed over her friends. Putting the picture back, she sighed. The first step was to get out of her room. Taking a deep breath, she turned theknob and opened the door.

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Finishing off his sixth bowl of ramen, Naruto sat back in his chair happily. It wasn't quite as good as Ichiraku, but Naruto suspected that was because this place just didn't have the warm, homely feeling to him that Ichiraku had. Thanking the chef, he paid for his dinner and was about to leave when he heard the name spoken: "Orochimaru." His head shot around to the two men sitting in the corner, and he leaned in for a better listen.

"Really? No wonder people stay away from him."

"Yeah, I heard he used to be one of his top subordinates: a master ninja."

"That crazy old man? You believe all that rumor and nonsense?"

"It's no rumor. The man was a dangerous criminal, I tell you. Still is."

"Oh, bullshit. Everyone is just scared because he lives by himself out by the graveyard. The old man is harmless."

Naruto walked away. It may have not been very credible, but he had already gotten a lead to Orochimaru's whereabouts. There was no way he could just let this slip by. He was going to have to pay this man a visit.

The graveyard wasn't that hard to find, and once he found it the man's house was easy to see too. Naruto went around and looked through all of the windows. No one seemed to be inside, and he didn't hear any noise coming from inside either. He opened one of the windows quietly and crawled inside. No sooner had his feet touched the ground, though, a knife went whizzing by. He felt the cold metal barely graze his eyelashes.

"Who are you? Why are you sneaking around and breaking into my house?" a voice came from somewhere in the shadows.

"So you really were a ninja before you came here, am I right?" Naruto stayed crouched down, unable to locate his enemy.

"The way you move. You're a ninja too, though not a very competent one. Who sent you here?" the voice seemed to be coming from every direction. Naruto figured he must be using some technique that his whereabouts.

"No one did. I came here looking for answers about Orochimaru."

"Never heard of him. Get out or else the next knife won't miss." The man's voice was threatening and harsh.

Naruto couldn't see his enemy, and he wouldn't be able to see any kuani thrown his way until it was too late. But he bravely defied the voice.

"I'm not leaving until I know whether or not you worked for him."

"What makes you think I'll tell a brat like you anything?" Another knife skimmed the top of Naruto's hair.

Naruto scanned the two kunai that had been thrown at him. Judging by the angle that they were stuck in the wall…

"You're getting deaf, you old fool. I told you I'm not leaving!"

A knife hit Naruto square in the chest. He burst into a cloud of smoke. Four clones jumped out and grabbed the assailant, knocking him to the floor. The real Naruto switched the light on.

The old man struggled. "Shadow clones!" he grunted, "but I was watching you from the beginning, when did you have the time to replace yourself with the clone?"

"That one that came through the window was a clone from the start. Once you were focused on it, I had my other clones sneak in without you noticing."

Naruto smirked. "I guess I never realized it, but when a clone is destroyed, everything it saw comes back to me. That clone you hit with your knife had figured out your position. Once it was destroyed, I knew where you were too."

"Hmph. Maybe you're a little better than I gave you credit for. But this doesn't change anything. I won't tell you anything about Orochimaru."

"Ah, but you just admitted that you know something. So now I can't let you go!"

The man cursed, realizing he had made such a careless mistake.

"I-it's not something I'm proud of, kid. I left Orochimaru a long time ago."

"Liar. You're just trying to save your ass aren't you! You slipped up by telling me you knew who he was, and now-"

"No, it's true" the old man insisted, "I just couldn't put up with that man's tactics anymore, so I left. You have no idea how much I regret hurting so many people."

"You didn't seem so hesitant to put a knife in my chest a second ago!" Naruto said.

"What was I supposed to think? You were sneaking around asking about Orochimaru!"

Naruto punched him. He only stayed standing because the clones were holding him up.

"Tell me where he is!"

"Please, believe me. I never had anything to do with that demon for fifteen years."

Naruto punched him again. "You're going to tell me where he is, you bastard!"

"Please…I don't know!" wailed the man.

Naruto pulled one of the kunai from the wall. "Tell me where Orochimaru is and I'll leave you in peace."

The old man looked into Naruto's eyes. They were dark, now, and intense. "I just don't know, young man, I just don't know."

Naruto drove the knife into the man's shoulder. He screamed out in pain.

"Just tell me where he is, damnit!" Naruto punched him again in the face.

"I don't know!"

"Lies!" Naruto, without removing the blade, dragged the knife slowly down into the man's chest.

The old man screamed out. "Please…please don't do this, I swear!"

"Grandpa?"

Naruto heard a shriek of horror coming from the stairway.

"_What? There's another one here! How could I have missed-"_

Naruto's thoughts were cut short when he saw a little boy standing there, eyes filled with tears.

"Grandpa!" The child gasped and ran to the old man.

"No, stay there!" the man called out.

Naruto looked at the terrified look in the child's eye. He looked down at the man. He was bleeding all over the place. His eyes widened, he pulled the knife out, and his clones disappeared and the man fell to the floor. Naruto looked at the blood on the knife. He let it drop to the floor, his hands shaking.

"_I…was I going to…" _

The old man was breathing heavily on the floor, his hand over the large gash in his shoulder.

"_Bleeding…from me…"_ Naruto couldn't think clearly.

The little boy had ignored his grandpa's warning and rushed at his side.

"_So…angry. This isn't what I…"_

"I'm sorry!" Naruto yelled, running out the door, "I'm so sorry!"

He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he ran. Was he willing to resort to this in order to find Sasuke?

"_No…"_ he thought, "_that's not me. I just wanted to ask him…"_

Unable to sort through his feelings, he kept on going. He was running from what he had been about to do, from the eagerness he had felt to cause the man pain. He was running away from the look on the little boys face and the screams of agony that left the old man's lips. He was just running, as fast as he could.


	3. Man to Man

Here it is, the third chapter. After this, I'm plaaning on having the 2 1/2 year time skip come into play. Please, if you read this tell me what you think. Getting good reviews in my inbox motivates me to write this stuff.

Okay, without any further delay, here is the third installment to my story. Enjoy.

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Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, sat her desk, drowned in paperwork as usual. She was a Sannin, one of the three legendary ninja. But herer she was, reduced to being the lap dog of the village elders. Jiraiya was off keeping an eye on Akatsuki, and Orochimaru was the most feared S-ranked criminal in history. Doing paperwork was a task below her status. As a Sannin, she should be discovering new medical jutsu, not sitting at a desk with a pen that was almost out of ink, up to her neck in paperwork. At her side was Shizune, holding Tonton like she always did. The young apprentice scolded her master.

"Hey now! All this paperwork isn't going to do itself, you know!"

Leaning forward the Hokage rested her chin on her palm. "Give me a break, Shizune! If you had to do all this work, you'd be tired and depressed too!"

"That may be, but I'm not the Hokage! It's your job to look over all of these documents!"

Tonton squealed in agreement.

"That's right," said Tsunade, glaring at both of them, "you are not the Hokage I am. You are also my apprentice. I am your teacher." With that, she raised her voice and yelled, "So you have no right to tell me what to do!"

"Idiot, I'm your top advisor! That's what I do, advise you!"

"But you don't have to sound like you're the one who gives out the commands around here! And what kind of advisor and student calls her master an idiot?!?!?!"

At that moment, the door to the Hokage's office flew open, scattering the papers everywhere. Tsunade and Shizune stared at the man who was responsible with scornful, blank eyes.

"You'd better have an extremely important message, for the sake of your health," warned Tsunade.

"Forgive me, Godaime," said the man warily, "but there is a courier ninja here. He says he's got a package for you."

"Eh? Well, send him up."

The man left. A few moments later, the courier ninja stepped into the room.

"Ah! The Fifth Hokage! It is an honor to stand in your presence." The ninja kneeled down on one knee and held out a small box. "I was hired to deliver this package quickly and safely to you, my lady."

"_What could it be?"_ she wondered. She hadn't ordered anything, and all official ninja business was handled by messenger or bird. So what was this?

She took the box from the man's hands.

"Who asked you to deliver this?" she asked.

"Ah, under the code of ethics that we courier ninja proudly follow, I cannot give you that information. Although, I do believe that he left a small note in that box, on which he signed his name."

Tsunade ripped open the wrapping. A metal object fell and hit her desk with a clang. A small parchment fell more slowly and glided into place on top of it. It was a Konoha headband. She unfolded the paper and read through the note:

Old Lady,

By allowing Sasuke to escape, I failed the mission that you assigned me and broke the promise that I made to Sakura-chan. In doing so, I failed in my way of the ninja. Until I get him back, I don't deserve to wear this. Hold on to it for me. I'll definitely earn it again once I bring Sasuke back to the village. And don't worry about me. I told you once before: until my dream comes true, until I become Hokage, I'll never let myself die.

At the end of the note, there was a barely legible signature.

Uzumaki Naruto.

And next to that was written

The Sixth Hokage

After reading over it twice, Tsunade let her hand, and the note, drop on her desk. Seeing her expression, Shizune snatched letter and read it. She too, was shocked, and speechless as well.

"Where were you when he gave you this message?" Tsunade asked hopefully.

"The young man paid me double the standard fee for me not to tell you, and under the code of ethics that-"

Tsunade cut him short with a wave of her hand. "Yes, yes, I understand," she said, knowing that it would be useless to try to get a courier ninja to break the sacred code, "but can you at least tell me how far you were from here?"

"Hmmm…I guess answering this question would not be in direct violation of the code…" the courier ninja said, "Ok. It's about a three day's travel from here, but for a little extra payment, the boy insisted I get here in a day and a half. We courier ninja never disappoint."

"That Naruto…he was always so reckless! What does he think he can do on his own?" said Shizune, more concerned than angry.

"_At least I know that you are alive, and for the moment, well," _thought Tsunade.

"We now know what happened at the Valley of the End, and we now know that both Sasuke and Naruto are alive. But there's no point in tracking him now. The boy's a complete idiot, but he's not stupid, and he's a good ninja. We won't find him very easily."

Tsunade spun her chair around so it faced window. She looked out at her city, the beautiful city of Konoha. In the background, the Hokage's faces glared proudly at the horizon. The Hokage's lips formed a small grin.

"Besides, I don't know what it is about that kid," she said, closing her eyes and sighing, "but I have faith in him. Somehow, some way, he will find a way to do succeed."

Shizune stared, disbelieving what her sensei had just said and the laid back expression on her face.

"But…but…this is Orochimaru we're talking about! And Akatsuki is after him as well…"

"If I had to bet my life on anything, I would bet it on him. He will find a way. I have no doubt. As for Akatsuki, we need to do our best to keep them off his back. But, according to Jiraiya, they won't be going after Naruto for two and a half years."

Shizune's jaw dropped. "I can't believe we're just letting him go! Imean, are you really okay with that?"

"What else do you suggest we do? Konoha has already lost manpower due to the attack, and I don't have the people or the time to spare to go looking for him."

"But what if the elders find out that he abandoned his forehead protector and is refusing to come back to the village?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, her voice shallowed to a mere whisper.

"That's why they won't find out. This is between me and you. If they knew about this, they would label him an outlaw for sure. They still don't know what happened, for all they know, Naruto is dead."

"I agree with that," said Shizune, "But I think two other people deserve to know, especially her…"

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Naruto was sleeping soundly high on the branch of a shady tree. In his sleep, he shifted his body slightly to the right. With his weight distribution changing, he slowly began to slide off of the branch. In a few seconds, he was falling. On impact with the ground, he awoke, startled and in pain.

"Ugh….ooowwwww…" he groaned.

"You really should stop sleeping in trees like that. This happens to you every time."

Naruto jumped up at the familiar voice.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Indeed, the jonin known as the copy ninja was standing before him.

"Yo."

"How did you find me?"

"I finished my solo mission that Tsunade-sama gave me a bit early, so I decided to take a detour and have some of the _World's Best Ramen_. When I got there, the chef was talking about how a strange blonde-haired kid ate six bowls of ramen, the most anyone has ever eaten at his shop. I figured it was you, so I summoned Pakkun to trace you. Sure enough, your scent was still fresh, and well, here you are, and here I am."

"So it's by chance then, you weren't actually looking for me. When you got into town." Naruto stated.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Naruto got in his fighting stance. "I'm not going back with you, sensei"

"I can't just let you leave. You are my pupil, after all."

Naruto sighed. He stood up straight again. He couldn't win against Kakashi, and if he tried to use shadow clones and run in every direction, Kakashi would stop him as soon as he formed the seal.

"Sensei, I am your pupil. You are a jonin, I am a genin that you were put in charge to take care of."

"Are you agreeing with me, then?" Kakashi asked, a little surprised.

"But there is something that we both are. Men."

Kakashi stood there and listened calmly.

"I have allowed something to happen, something that was my responsibility. I can't be known as a ninja or as a man until I fix that problem. So I'm asking you, Kakashi-sensei, not as a genin, not as your student, not even as a friend, but man to man. Please, let me do this. I have to finish it, and I have to do it in my own way."

Kakashi just stared at him. He put a hand on his hip and shrugged.

"I knew you would say something like that, Naruto. When it comes to these sort of things, it's just the way you are."

He paused for a second. Naruto, not sure of what else to say, waited for him to continue.

"I gave Sasuke advice, but ultimately the decision was his. He chose to leave the village. This is the same. I'll advise you to come back with me, but, as you said, you are a man. Only you can decide what path you will take. If I force you to come with me, you'll just end up angry with me and try to leave the village again anyway, so it would be pointless."

"You already know my decision Kakashi-sensei."

He sighed. Naruto was right. Kakashi already knew which option he would choose.

"Here." He threw a small pouch at Naruto. It jingled when he caught it. "That should help you out for a while. It's just a little money I was saving up, but you'll need it more than me."

"Right, then I guess-" Kakashi had turned to leave, but Naruto stopped him.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"What is it?"

"Have you ever…tortured someone?" Naruto's blue eyes fell to his feet.

"Ah, well…no, but I've seen it being done firsthand. Both mentally, with Ibiki, and physically."

"I…I…tortured someone." Naruto's words were shaky.

Kakashi was taken aback, his eyes wide, yet concerned.

"I heard that he may have had connections to Orochimaru, so I went to investigate…With a kunai…I…don't know what came over me…it's like I was possessed…I never wanted to hurt him so badly."

Kakashi saw the distressed look on his student's face. His voice came out firmly.

"Naruto. Pull yourself together. Torture is a harsh, cruel, yet necessary way to obtain information. What did you think you'd have to do to get information? Buy him some ramen and then he'd tell you everything?"

"Of course not!" Naruto lashed out, "but the old man was harmless. He had a grandson that saw…he just wanted to live in peace…and I hurt him…made him bleed."

"Naruto!" Kakashi's hard voice overtook Naruto's. "That is the reality of being a shinobi. We must do what we have to. We are surrounded by death. Every moment during a mission could be your last. Didn't I tell you that from the very beginning?"

Naruto nodded.

"Like I said, torture is not a pretty thing, but it's what must be done. You had no idea whether the man was telling the truth or not. Pain is the number one inciter for the truth."

Naruto still hadn't taken his gaze from the ground.

"Still…I can see why you had such a hard time with it Naruto. Most people who torture are trained and have done it so many times that it doesn't phase them. This was your first time, and you are much too kind and caring to do something like that. But know this: it won't be the last time you'll have to do this."

Naruto looked Kakashi in the eye. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. After that incident, I thought I was a monster. But now, looking at reality, it was the only thing I could have done. Like you said, if he had known anything, he wasn't going to just come right out and tell me. But I don't know whether I can do something like that again…"

"Then I suggest you find someone to do it for you." Kakashi said.

"How's Sakura-chan?" Naruto's question came out suddenly.

"When she first heard that both you and Sasuke were missing, she was absolutely devastated. I haven't had the time to see her, much less talk to her about it. I was assigned a mission right away."

"Tell her...tell her that everything is going to be okay. I'll make sure of it."

Before turning to leave, Kakashi had one more thing to say.

"Naruto, be careful with the Kyuubi. If you're not careful, the chakra could completely overwhelm your body. Don't rely on it until you absolutely have to. I mean it."

Kakashi was about to turn and leave, but Naruto beat him to it. He slowly walked out of sight, his hand waving in the air without looking back.

"Next time you see me, Kakashi-sensei, team 7 will be together again. Until then…"

He watched as Naruto walked out of sight.

"_Goodbye, Naruto. Be careful, and good luck."_

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Sakura sat beside Ino on the blanket they had laid out in the grass. Shikamaru was lazily watching the clouds, Chouji had already began to devour most of the food.

"Chouji!" Ino scolded, "don't go eating all of the food, and don't act like a pig! We have a guest joining us today!"

"So?!?" Chouji said, his mouth full, "having Sakura here doesn't make me any less hungry!"

Ino slapped her forehesd with her palm and let her hand run down her face.

"Well Sakura, we'd better eat before it's all gone."

"Sakura!"

They all looked up. Shizune was coming towards them.

"Oi! Shizune-senpai, come join us for a picnic!" called Ino.

"Thanks, but Tsunade-sama and I request Sakura's presence."

"Oh, ok," said Sakura. She turned to the other three. "Thanks for the invitation you guys, I really appreciate it."

"But Sakura, you didn't even eat!" said Ino, cutting her a piece of cake and handing it to her. "Here, have some of this cake I made!"

"Ino!" Chouji protested, "you gave her the best piece!" His blonde teammate sent him flying.

"Thanks. Bye, you guys!"

"Bye!" three voices called back to her.

"What's this about, Shizune?"

"It's about Naruto."

Hearing his name, Sakura dropped the cake that Ino had given her.

"Is it good or bad?"

"That depends on how you look at it," replied Shizune. "Let's go."

Sakura's pace quickened. She was eager to hear any news about Naruto.

Back on the grass, Chouji frowned.

"I can't be friends with anyone who would waste delicious cake like that!"

Ino and Shikamaru left two huge lumps on his head.

Sakura arrived at Tsunade's office. She saw that Kakashi was there, as well.

"I'll get right down to it," Tsunade told them, exchanging glances with both of them, "we have recieved word from Naruto."

"What? Where is he? Is he okay? Is Sasuke with him?" Sakura couldn't begin to ask enough questions. She wanted to know what happpend to her two teammates. Shizune handed her the letter.

Kakashi just stood there, as if not caring.

"You don't look very suprised, or concerened at all, Kakashi." Tsunade eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh, he and I had a talk. I saw him on my way back here."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!" the screaming form the three women was almost enough to make Kakashi go deaf.

"Yeah, he and I ran into each other."

Sakura, finishing the letter, didn't know what to say. Her emotions were scattered, each of them fighting for dominance within her. Words couldn't describe just how she was feeling. unable to keep herself stable, she collapsed into the nearest chair.

"Well..what did you two talk about?" the other two women asked curiously.

"Oh, this and that. I could probably tell you the general idea of that letter even though I haven't read it yet. He asked me about torture, I gave him some money, and we both went on our way."

Shizune and Tsunade gawked at him, their jaws on the floor, their eyeballs practically jumping from their sockets. He turned to Sakura. He could see the distraught look on her face.

"He also wanted to tell you something, Sakura. He said that he'd make sure everything would be okay."

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. She pictured him saying those words to her, trying to imagine his voice and smile. She closed her eyes. She had calmed down, her emotions in check. Naruto. Even when he wasn't here, his words could put her at ease. It was an amazing thing.

_"Naruto, you idiot...you better come back to me..." _


	4. A New Life

Yeah so I've had a lot of time on my hands lately so I've been able to finish these chapters rather quickly. I posted the 3rd like 2 days ago. Anyway, this picks up after the 2 ½ year skip so I hope ya like it. Introducing three characters of my own in this one. They have all kinds of nicknames for one another, so just bare with it, please. Just as a reference, Kitsune refers to a fox, and is often associated with the spirit fox of Japanese mythology. Yeah, I did my google research.

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It was a day not unlike others. The sun shined brightly, unopposed and unhindered on a cloudless afternoon. In the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the citizens tried desperately to go about their business while attempting every method possible to stay cool. It was hot, plain and simple, no other way to describe it. But unknown to the people of Konoha, dark forces had been but into action. Far from the city in a pitch black cavern, red clouds started to gather, and the gathering of clouds could only mean one thing: a storm was about it hit. They stood, nine ghostly shadows in the darkness.

"All the preparations have been made. We've been waiting two and a half years. It's finally time."

They dispersed without a word, leaving one man, the leader, to his own sinister thoughts.

When he spoke, it was as if the devil himself were talking.

"Soon, my plan will be complete. The bijuu…their power will be mine!"

The laugh that followed was nothing short of pure evil.

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On this day, a certain person had stopped at a river to cool down from the heat. Sitting on a rock, his feet were covered to the ankle with soothing cold water. Down to just his shorts, he was totally focused, concentrating on the kunai which was balancing sharp side down on his index finger. With a twitch of his hand, the knife flipped into the air, landing once again on his fingertip. This person, of course, was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

"Come on, Maki-san! The water is just great!" he heard Akiko calling him.

She was waving to him in the water, her long black hair disappearing under the surface. Her eyes matched her hair. They were the deepest black he could have imagined. She had the largest, kindest eyes that Naruto had ever seen. Her waving was put to a stop though, when another girl jumped on her and dunked her underwater. Akiko re-surfaced, her small lips in a frown.

"What's wrong?" the other girl laughed, "can't you touch bottom here?"

Akiko raised her fist out of the water.

"Why I oughta!!!" she started to say. Her friend just smiled.

"You can't do anything if I swim all the way out here!" she laughed.

Her hair was usually braided, but for this little swim she had undid them. The blonde locks went just a little past her shoulders, reaching her upper back. Her green eyes and smile were teasing Akiko in every way. She always teased Akiko about her height, since she was the older than herself and Naruto, yet the shortest in the group. They all teased her, and it was a delightful change for Naruto. But he did feel sorry for her, from time to time, knowing what it was like to be made fun of for his height. Although it was just play, it was good to apologize sometimes.

"Hey, Suki, stop teasing Akiko. That's an order."

Akiko stuck her tongue out at her. Suki made a face at him. "Order? Since when do you give out orders? Aren't you the one who always says this group doesn't have a leader, we make decisions as a team?"

"I do say that," said Naruto, "but aren't all of you the ones who insist that I am the leader?"

Suki smiled. "Well, if the leader wants to order me around, then he'll have to come into the water and catch me first, Baka-kun."

"Gah! I hate it when you call me that!" Naruto dove into the water. It was really refreshing.

"Oh, so now you're going to leave me up here by myself, Kitsune? I thought you were going to help me cook today. "

Naruto was about to respond, but Suki was the one to talk.

"Don't worry about it, Takahiro, its better that he doesn't help you. I don't want to die of food poisoning, you know!"

Takahiro watched his companions. Naruto, after hearing what Suki had said about his cooking, was as determined as ever to catch up to her.

"Let's get her, Aki-chan!"

The two of them chased her all over the place. Takahiro was the oldest out of all of them. At age 24, he had the most experience as a ninja and as such, his skills slightly exceeded Naruto's. But he had agreed, along with the rest of them back when the six man team got together that Naruto should be in charge. He was the one that had brought them all together. That knucklehead kid who was always playing around and was always clueless, he had the strongest spirit and heart that Takahiro had ever seen. Within him, the older guy saw, was the potential to become a great ninja, a great leader, a great man. Naruto had given him the strength to go on when he had nothing left. He had definitely earned the complete trust and respect of everyone around him.

He came back to camp now, dripping all over the place. Takahiro looked down at the river to see the two girls sitting along the shore.

"See that? You are a good leader after all. You stopped a quarrel between two members of the group."

Naruto just grinned. "So what are we cooking here, Hiro?"

"Some of the meat we picked up at the market back in the city. This is the last of it, so enjoy it. It'll be the last you have in a long time. I don't think they have this kind of meat in Konoha, do they?"

"They sure don't," said Naruto, "if they did, I'd tell the old man at Ichiraku to throw some in my ramen."

Takahiro laughed. "That's all you ever talk about, Kitsune, Ichiraku, Ichiraku, Ichiraku. I'm looking forward to seeing if this place really lives up to its name!"

"You'll love it, Hiro" He said, and then raised his voice so that the girls could hear.

"It'll be a million times better than Aki-chan and Suki's ramen."

Akiko made sure Naruto could hear, too. "Ignore him, Suki. He doesn't know how to cook anything at all!"

"Ah, that's true isn't it, Kiko!" the other girl fired back, "Naruto-baka is useless when it comes to cooking. All he's good for is eating!"

They all laughed.

"Well, it's almost finished now, so you girls get dry and we'll all have a nice dinner." Takahiro got up to get the plates and silverware.

"Itadakimasu!" they said in unison when they had all gathered around.

Dinner went as it always did in the group: the four of them joking around, hanging out, savoring the food, and just having a good time. But tonight Naruto wasn't as talkative as he usually is. Deep down inside, he was a bit nervous about having to return to the village after all these years, and not being able to let anyone see who he is. If he ran into Sakura…he didn't know what he would do.

After dinner, the nightly chores were distributed among each of them. Naruto got stuck with the dishes, which wasn't bad, considering there were only four of them. But there used to be six. Now they all just sat around, relaxing after another day. Naruto was sitting at the water's edge, throwing rocks into the slow moving current.

The three others were looking over at him, worried.

"It must be hard for him," Takahiro said, "from what he's told us about his hometown, who knows what he must be feeling about going back."

"Yeah. Who knew that after all this time, one of our leads on Orochimaru would take us right back to where he started." Akiko said, and then she called to him. "Maki-san, why don't you join us here by the fire?"

Naruto threw another rock. "Nah, I'm fine over here, Aki-chan."

Suki walked over to him. She sat close to him wrapping a blanket around them both. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he leaned his head against hers. Her arm was around his back, and his was slung around her shoulder.

"After hearing so many wonderful things about Konoha from you, I thought you'd be more excited to go back."

"I am excited, but…I'm kind of nervous as well."

"I know. You've been nervous ever since we've been in the fire country."

"You noticed? Was it that obvious?" Naruto asked.

"Heh," she laughed softly, "you can't hide anything from me, Baka-kun."

They sat in silence for a while.

"You're worried that you'll see her, aren't you?"

"A little," he lied. It was the only thing he was worried about.

"But even if you did see her, she would just pass you by, not knowing who you were."

"I know, I know. But it's just that…seeing her again after all this time. I wonder what she looks like now, and how she's doing. I swore to myself and to her that next time I saw her, Sasuke would be right beside me."

"Well then, if I see a girl with pink hair, I'll tell you to close your eyes when she passes by. That way, you won't see her, she won't see you, and you won't break your promise."

Naruto shook his head, chuckling. "You always have a simple solution to everything, don't you?"

"Of course," she smiled, "how else would this team survive with an idiot as their leader without me around?"

"It wouldn't." he told her.

"Whatever happens, just know that I'll be there with you, and so will Kiko and Takahiro."

"You don't have to tell me that. I already know."

"Good!" she said, getting up to her feet. "Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late wallowing in your past, we don't want our tour guide to be sleepy tomorrow!"

She leaned down, kissed Naruto on the cheek, and went to set up her sleeping bag near the fire.

Naruto stared into the river. The water was nice and clear so that he could see the stars in the flowing water. He grabbed a handful of rocks and threw them all in at the same time. The rocks splashed into the river, the ripples overlapping and ruining the crystal clear reflection of the starry sky. Naruto watched as the small waves slowly spread out and vanished, leaving nothing but the sound of cold water and the picture perfect imitation of the sky.

"_Konoha…"_ he stared out to the horizon in the direction of the city he knew so well.

"_I guess it can't be helped. Time to go back home."_


	5. An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 5. Not much to say this time, just thanks for reading it and I hope you like it.

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His three teammates waited on the other side of the wall. Before him, the tall gates of Konoha were open, inviting him back to the place he had left long ago, a place he still cherished. He looked up at the faces of the Hokage overlooking the village. Heh. They had added Tsunade's face to the mountain. If he didn't become Hokage soon, there wasn't going to be much room left for his own face. He didn't know what it was, but he felt both drawn to and repelled by his old city. It sure had been a long time…

"Maki-san…"

"Naruto…"

Akiko and Suki each grabbed one of his hands. They gently pulled him forward and Naruto took his first step into Konoha in almost 3 years. Takahiro, pretending to hold a microphone in his hand, interviewed Naruto.

"So, Uzumaki-dono, how does it feel to come back to your village after all this time?"

"It feels…nice…" he said.

The other three smiled. They were glad that he was feeling better about this. Together, they walked the streets watching Naruto looking at every building, remembering things from his past.

"Ah, that's where me and Konohamaru used to play. Oh, and look everyone, it's my house! I wonder if anyone is living there, now?"

"Do you want to go see it?" asked Suki.

"Nah. It's probably the exact same as I left it."

They kept on walking, passing the field on which Naruto took the survival test all those years ago.

"Hey guys, check it out. This is where I became a genin…and that's the post I was tied to!"

The other three inspected the three wooden posts with awe. They had heard the story from Naruto countless times. It was as exciting for them as it was for him.

Soon they came to a bridge, and Naruto ran ahead of them and stood in the middle of it.

"This is where we used to wait for Kakashi-sensei every morning! He was always late!"

They gave him all the time he needed to just recollect and enjoy being back in his village. They had been walking around all morning. Naruto sighed.

"_I really miss this old town"_ he thought.

"Well, thanks for letting me just walk around and see the city for a while," he said out loud.

"Not at all, Kitsune, we knew how big of a deal this was for you."

"I suppose it's time to meet with our guy, then?" Akiko asked.

"He told us to meet in room 354 of the hotel down by the hot springs. Do you know where that is, Baka-kun?"

"Grrrr! Why do you have to call me that?" Naruto said angrily.

"Because it gets you so riled up," Suki giggled, "and I can just picture the face you're making under that hood right now!"

"Tch. It's this way."

Naruto led the way to the hotel. He couldn't help but remember the time he had trained here before the final stage of the chuunin exams. This is where he had first met Jiraiya, peeking on the women as usual. He laughed to himself. He sure had many good memories of this place.

He led them to the third floor, and after that to the door numbered 354. He glanced at each of his teammates, who in turn nodded their heads. Naruto knocked on the door.

"Come in. We've been waiting."

Something about the voice seemed vaguely familiar to Naruto. He opened the door.

"GAAAHHH!" he shouted in surprise. His jaw had dropped to the floor and his pointing finger was switching back and forth between the two men standing in the room.

"What's wrong?" Suki whispered.

"K-k-k-kakashi-sensei! Ero-Sannin!" he belted out.

"It's been a while, Naruto."

Naruto's teammates were in complete shock.

"Kakashi-ensei, Ero-sannin?" they repeated his words slowly, wondering what was going on.

"Surprised?" said Kakashi, his one visible eye watching everyone's expressions.

"Of course I'm surprised! I…how did you…what the hell?" Naruto had no clue what was happening.

"Come now, come in and have a seat," insisted Jiraiya, "there's no point in standing in the doorway staring at us like idiots."

Naruto did as the Sannin had asked, and the other three, not sure of what to do, followed their leader inside.

"So…we were set up?" Takahiro asked the two Konoha ninja.

"Yeah. The person who told you there was someone who knew Orochimaru's whereabouts here in Konoha was planted there by us."

"But why? And how did you know that we were going to be there?" Naruto still couldn't believe that this was happening.

"Come on, Naruto. I'm Jiraiya of the legendary three, and Kakashi here is no dummy either. Out on our missions we began to hear rumors of a group that wears hooded tan cloaks."

"Which," Kakashi pointed out, "you were wearing the last time I saw you."

Jiraiya continued. "Not much is known about them, but all of their activities seem to be focused around one goal: finding Orochimaru. From what I've heard, they are extremely skilled, especially their leader, who has no name but is known as Kitsune. A fox."

Kakashi shrugged. "Putting all the pieces together, we figured that this Kitsune guy was you, Naruto. Jiraiya-sama here has been following your movements, and placed the bait."

"So you lured us here…why?" demanded Naruto.

"Akatsuki." Jiraiya's face turned to stone. He was serious.

"They have put their plan into motion, and are after the Jinchuuriki. Naruto, that means-"

"We already know." Naruto's voice was dead serious as well. "They attacked us a few times already, and two of our group have died facing them."

The room was silent.

"Is it Itachi and Kisame, then?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, but there's another guy that we've seen around, he looks like a plant. He's their information gatherer, their spy."

"I've seen that guy too. He's weird." Jiraiya had been keeping an eye on them for a long time.

Takahiro was the next to speak. "That's not all. There's one team that has incredible power. Hidan and Kakuzu. They were frightening."

"Just how many teams have come after you guys?"

"Just those two," said Naruto, "but we've faced each of them at least twice. Each time we've been forced to retreat."

"So you really are skilled… You guys are the only people who have lived long enough to fight them several times."

The atmosphere was quickly spiraling downwards. Kakashi looked over at his old student.

"Hey, Naruto." Kakashi waved him over. "Come here and take off that hood of yours. I want to see how much you've changed."

Naruto laughed. "If I take off this hood, will you take off that mask?"

"No."

Pulling back his hood and revealing a grin, Naruto walked out onto the balcony with his old teacher. His teammates, back in the room with Jiraiya, felt the tension dissipate and they showed their faces too.

"Are you really the legendary Jiraiya?" asked Akiko.

"You're not at all like I pictured you, and Naruto just said you were an old man…" said Suki.

They stood there, amazed by the toad Sannin. Jiraiya clasped his hands together, his eyes sparkling with a perverted glint.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "I never would have thought that two beautiful girls would ever join up with Naruto!"

The two girls glared at him.

"But he sure does live up exactly to his expectations, just as Maki-chan said." Akiko was disappointed. Suki nodded.

"Oh, so Naruto's been talking about me, I see. Well then, let me tell you something about him…"

Outside on the balcony, Naruto sat on the railing, talking to his one time teacher.

"So you quit being a sesnei, huh?"

"That's right. After my old team fell apart…"

"That wasn't your fault, Kakashi-sensei. There were forces at work that neither of us could stop."

"Besides that, I realized that I don't want another team. You, Sakura, and Sasuke are the only team that ever passed my test. You were my first official squad, and I could never want any other team besides you."

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, once I bring Sasuke back, we can be a team again."

Kakashi looked back into the room. He saw the three young ninja talking with Jiraiya.

"Looks like you've found yourself some nice companions."

"Yeah. That day we met in the forest, I took your advice. I said that I never wanted to torture anyone again, and you told me that I'd better get someone to do it for me. That's when I realized: taking down a Sannin is not something I could do by myself."

"I'm glad I was of help to you."

"All of them had their lives destroyed by Orochimaru. Takahiro there had his whole family murdered. Aki-chan, erm, Akiko there, like Sasuke, had the curse mark forced on her. In fear, she was cast out of her small village. I ran into her out on the road. Yasuka, we all just call her Suki, her father was killed by Kabuto. Our two other members, Baine and Sato, were brothers. They had an older brother who's body Orochimaru used as his own."

"You guys seem close."

"We are. They're like family. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them."

"I could tell. They know about the kyuubi don't they? That's why they call you kitsune."

"Yeah. At the very beginning when we got together, I hid it from them, but after a while I felt like they deserved to know. If I suddenly went kyuubi in a battle without them knowing what I was, so I told them everything."

"You sure have grown up, Naruto."

"And you haven't changed at all, sensei. Of course, I can't tell since I've never seen your face before."

He smiled at Kakashi.

"She's fine." Kakashi said.

"What?"

"You were going to ask how Sakura is right? She's fine."

Naruto had indeed been wanting to ask that question. It was always in the back of his mind.

"She's training under Tsunade-sama now. I recommended that she did because of her excellent chakra control. She's making great progress as a medical ninja."

"That's great news," Naruto said, "good for her."

"She's lonely though, I can tell. Even when she's out with Ino and the others, she still misses you and Sasuke a lot."

"Just a little bit longer…" Naruto thought in has mind, but he realized he had said them out loud.

"Huh?" Kakashi asked.

"I won't make her wait for much longer. I'll bring Sasuke to her, and she won't be lonely anymore."

"Sasuke this, Sasuke that…she misses you too, you know."

"Yeah"

Naruto stared off at the sky. He was just about to ask Kakashi how his fellow genin were doing.

"Looks like they're talking about you in there."

Everyone in the room was glaring out at Naruto. Suki looked especially threatening. Kakashi and Naruto went back into the room. They were greeted with shouts.

"Naruto!" screamed Suki, "what's with this sexy jutsu I'm hearing about?!?!"

"Guh…what?" was all he could manage. He shot an angry glance and Jiraiya, who smiled.

"I thought you said you told them about everything?" Kakashi whispered.

"Well, at the time, it didn't really seem that impoertant" he whispered back, mumbling out the side of his mouth.

"Well, let's see it, Maki-san!" Akiko actually sounded impressed, while Takahiro was just chuckling.

"Uh…I'll show you guys later," he said bashfully.

"Come on! Show them now, Naruto! I'd like to see it again myself!"

Naruto looked over at Kakashi who shrugged.

"Hmph. Sexy jutsu. Leave it to Naruto-baka to invent something like that..."

"Show us!"

"Come on!"

"I wanna see it, Maki-san!"

"Okay, okay!" he finally shouted.

The room grew silent in waiting anticipation. All eyes were on him. He brought his hands together, made the proper seal, and…

"Oiroke no jutsu!"

A cloud of white surrounded Naruto, but then started to clear…

Jiraiya's nose started to bleed. Kakashi just stared indifferently. Suki had a weird look on her face. Akiko had one eyebrow raised and wore a crooked smile. Takahiro was trying to restrain himself from laughing.

"Uhhh…hi" Naruto said in his girly voice.

That was enough to send Takahiro over the edge. He erupted with laughter. Naruto undid the jutsu.

"There, are you all happy now?" He was obviously blushing. He slammed himself down onto the couch next to Takahiro.

"_Jeez, I didn't mind showing it to Taka-san, I knew he would just laugh. But Akiko…and Suki, I wonder what she's thinking?"_

Jiraiya wiped his nose, and Takahiro just kept on laughing. The two girls were at a loss of words, still wearing the same expressions and staring at the place where Naruto had just been. Kakashi was unphased. He got up, but not until after he gave everyone enough time to soak in Naruto's original jutsu.

"Well come on, the Hokage wants to see you, too."

"That old hag knows about this? Well, why does she wanna see me?"

"Don't be stupid," Jiraiya told him, "she's been worried about you too. Plus, she has some news that you might want to hear. Let's go. I think she'll be happy to see you and meet your new friends here."

Naruto smiled. He didn't mind a visit to Tsunade's office at all. He wanted to see her as well. Hoods already back on, the group followed Kakashi and Jiraiya out the door.


	6. Working Together

Hi again. As you'll see, most of this chapter is just dialouge. I went crazy today and wrote the next three chapters, so I'll be getting those out for you as well.

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Kakashi and Jiraiya opened the door to the Hokage's quarters. Naruto let his companions pass, entering the room last. Tsunade sat at her desk, Shizune standing beside her. Their eyes passed over the four of them. They were trying to guess which one was him.

"You need not hide your identities any further. We are all allies here." Tsunade assured them.

One by one, they each removed their hoods. Naruto again waited to be the last one.

"Hey there, Old Lady, Shizune." He was grinning from ear to ear.

Tsunade couldn't help but smile. She was seeing the person she considered a little brother for the first time in two and a half years. Inside she felt relieved. All this time she could only wonder and hope that he was okay, but seeing him here now made her feel much better.

"Naruto…welcome home," she said warmly.

"Naruto-kun, it's good to see you again." Shizune was also relieved.

"I saw your ugly old mug on the mountain, Old Lady! At this rate, they're not gonna have any more room for me out there!"

Akiko and Suki were surprised to see how young Tsunade looked. Akiko was unable to hold her tongue.

"Wow…Tsunade-sama…you're the same age as Jiraiya-sama right? Yet you look at least twenty years younger than him!"

Tsunade looked over to her. "I'm sorry to see that your courteousness hasn't rubbed off on Naruto. He doesn't even have the decency to introduce me to his friends."

"Oh!" said Naruto, getting the clue, "this guy is Takahiro, this is Yasuka, and she is Akiko. Everyone, this is the crabby old lady I've told you about, and she only looks young because of some kind of jutsu that changes her appearance! She's really old!"

"Enough with the 'old' crap!" Tsunade yelled.

Naruto nudged each of them. "Didn't I tell you she was crabby?" He laughed, and Jiraiya did as well.

"I haven't seen you for more than five minutes and I already feel like pulling my hair out. I don't know how the three of you put up with him every day."

"Neither do we." Both of the girls giggled, but Takahiro put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"He's a fine young man, Tsunade-sama, and a great leader. We're happy to have him with us."

Tsunade didn't expect anything less from Naruto. There was something special about him that attracted people to him, both good and bad.

"Well, I'd hate to put a stop to this reunion Naruto, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei told me as much. What's going on?"

"You remember Gaara, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do! Did something happen to him?"

"Well, the Kazekage was kidnapped a few days ago."

"So, what's up with Gaara?" asked Naruto.

"No one told you? Gaara is the Kazekage."

"Huh? Gaara..is the Kazekage?" Naruto was totally blown away by this. "That's…that's great! No, that's not great, he got kidnapped?"

"Yes. It was Akatsuki's doing."

"Damn them!" he cursed, "it's hard enough going after Sasuke, but with these guys always after us…"

"That's precisely why I wanted you to come here today, Naruto. We need to work side by side. Konoha your group here. What do you call yourselves again?"

"Uh…" Naruto looked around at his group, "we don't really call ourselves anything."

"Rakugosha" said Suki after giving it some thought.

"Eh? Rakugosha?" said Naruto. "That's an awful group name!"

"Actually, Naruto, it's quite fitting," said Kakashi.

Jiraiya agreed. "I like it."

(Rakugosha means dropout, straggler, or an outcast)

Tsunade was amused. The name truly was fitting.

"Right, then that's what I'll refer to you four as when addressing you as a group."

"What? I'm the leader, and I don't get a say in this?" Naruto argued.

"We've all agreed. I thought you'd like it, Maki-san."

"Yeah, yeah. Like Kakashi-sempai said, it's fitting for you, Baka-kun."

Takahiro nodded, having no problem with the name.

"Tch. Whatever. Well, I guess it looks like we're going to cooperate with Konoha on this one. Old Lady, Rakugosha is ready to lend a hand, just say what needs to be done."

"Then it's settled. You guys will help the village out with the rescue of the Kazekage."

Looking over at Naruto, "You are the leader of this group, Naruto. Since we are working together, you and I have equal authority."

The amazed look on his face was priceless. "What do you mean, Old Lady?"

"We're both leaders, and our groups are working to help each other. It's only fair that we're both given equal authority."

"So…you're telling me that I'm allowed to order Kakashi-sensei around?"

A bead of sweat rolled down the jonin's temple.

"If I chose to put him under your jurisdiction, then yes. But I don't think I'll be doing that."

Naruto laughed and punched Kakashi in the shoulder.

"Wouldn't that be something, sensei, if I got to give you orders?"

"It definitely would be interesting," he replied.

"Wait, hold on." Takahiro raised his hand, sort of asking permission to speak and getting everyone's attention. "Does that mean Kitsune will have people assigned to him, that we'll have more people in our group temporarily?"

"It's highly probable, yes. But before all this, in order to devise a strategy against Akatsuki and to pick out candidates for the mission who would compliment your talents, we need to have a good idea of exactly what you four are capable of."

Hearing this, Naruto got pumped up. "Hehe…I've been looking forward to showing you guys what we can do." He pointed to Kakashi-sensei, showing that he was ready for the challenge. "What are we going to do? The bell test? Fight Ero-Sannin? Bring it on!"

Feeding off his energy, the other three were ready to go as well. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"You're still as eager as ever to show people what you can do, but you won't be facing off against any of us. You'll be facing one of our four man teams."

"This should be a piece of cake. We've been out there with S-ranked ninja, after all." Takahiro was confident.

Naruto knew better. "Don't underestimate the Leaf shinobi, Hiro. I know most of the four man teams around here, and they're good." To Tsunade, he said, "so who's it going to be? Neji, Tenten and Fuzzy Eyebrows? Or maybe Kiba, Shino and Hinata?"

"You'll know soon enough." Tsunade whispered something into Shizune's ear.

"I understand, Tsunade-sama. I'll go get them right away." She left the room, and Tsunade stood up.

"They'll meet us down there. Here." She handed the four of them Konoha headbands, each with a different colored dot in the center of the spiral.

"Wear these on your right arm so we know who is who out there, and we can keep track of you."

Takahiro took red, Akiko purple, Suki green, and Naruto blue.

"Let's go." She led the way out of the office.

Jiraiya and Kakashi met them at the door.

"We're really looking forward to this, guys. We want to see what you can do."

They all grinned before putting their hoods up.

"Watch us, Ero-Sannin, Kakashi-sensei. We'll put on a show for you."

They left the room, Jiraiya in the back and Kakashi up in front. Naruto was talking to his team.

"Okay, although they're sure to have learned some new things over these past years, I know the basic idea of these teams' strengths and weaknesses. I don't know how much time the Old Lady is going to give us to prepare after we see our opponents, so listen up. If the group we go up against has two guys with the bushiest eyebrows you have ever seen, then that means we're up against Lee, Tenten, Neji, and Gai. Gai and Lee are Taijutsu experts. Tenten prefers weapons. And Neji has this really annoying bloodline limit called Byakugan."

Jiraiya and Kakashi listened as Naruto went over strategies for each of the teams that he knew. They had never known Naruto to be a strategist, but in the field of battle he was good at thinking on his feet and using deception quite well.

They arrived at the battleground, and they saw Tsunade standing there with Kurenai and Asuma. Jiraiya and Kakashi went to stand with them.

"These people will help me decide which of our ninja would most likely compliment you out in the field. They are here to watch the battle as well. Are you ready?"

They nodded.

"The rules are simple. Of course, we're not trying to kill each other here, but we want to see your true powers. It'll be just like a chuunin exam. The match ends if we put a stop to it or if one side gives up."

Tsunade gave the order. "Team 10, it's time!"

Naruto watched as Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji walked out and stood across from them. He looked at Asuma. He hadn't moved.

"Okay, it's team ten, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. We can't get caught in their trap. Always assume that Shikamaru is one step ahead of us, and be on your guard. The Old Lady is trying to throw me off by mixing someone other than Asuma-sensei in with them, so…"

Tsunade watched Naruto as he went over some final strategy with his team.

"_This is a perfect chance to catch him off guard. He won't be expecting this…"_

"Hold on you guys, our fourth member is running a bit late," she said.

Naruto didn't buy it. "She's just trying to prolong the suspense. That old hag. Just remember what we talked about. Always be aware of the shadows. He thinks like 2 million steps ahead. The good thing is, he doesn't know what kind of techniques we use, so I think it would be better if we only use taijutsu in the early going. Only start to use your real techniqures if you get into trouble. Shikamaru likes to sit back and watch our attacks, and then finds the perfect counter for them. He's going to try to put us in a position where Ino can use her mind techniques, or trap us so that Chouji can flatten us. If we…"

Naruto stopped talking in complete shock when he saw the fourth enemy walk onto the field. His skin paled, his heart was beating so hard his comrades could hear it.

"What's wrong, Kitsune?" Takahiro tried to shake him out of it. Unable to speak, he pointed a shaky hand at the person who was standing at Ino's side.

The collective gasp caught everyone's attention.

"_So, he's noticed."_ Tsunade smiled. "_Let's see what those kids are really made of."_

"_Ah, Tsunade-sama, you're too cruel"_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Akiko cocked her head to the side._ "So this is her, huh?"_

Takahiro nodded his head. _"Kitsune was right. She's pretty."_

Suki stared at the girl in astonishment. _"That pink hair…there's no mistaking it. This girl is…"_

"Sakura, you sure took your time getting here, didn't you?" Tsunade had a triumphant look on her face.

"Sorry, sensei, I saw an injured dog on the way here, and I couldn't just pass it by."

Slowly, Naruto's panic left him.

"Heh…she's trying to throw me off by pulling this stunt."

"Will you be okay, Maki-san?"

"I'll be fine. You guys leave her to me."

"What? Are you sure, Kitsune?"

"Yeah. Look at them, all on the sidelines. They expect me to be hesitant and lose my cool since Sakura-chan's here. They want to test us. They won't expect me to want to fight her."

"Baka-kun! Can you really go all out against her? And I just realized, if you use your shadow clones, they might find out…"

"Don't worry about me-"

Tsunade's voice cut him off. "Ready!"

"I'll be fine, and I have other things besides shadow clones, you know…"

"Set!"

"Like what?" Suki asked, "I know everything about your fighting style, but-"

"There's no time! Leave Sakura-chan to me, and remember to-"

"Begin!"

Naruto was forced to cut his speech short. He looked up at Tsunade. She was watching him intently. He'd show her that she hadn't gotten the best of him. He ran straight at Sakura.

"_Heh…"_ he laughed as he ran. _"Sakura-chan, long time no see."_


	7. A Minor Trial

Yes, I'm aware that Sakura gets done in pretty easily in this fight, so sorry for those of you who think she should have done a little more. Anyway, I say this a lot but I really mean it, thanks for continuing to read this story and I hope this chapter is to your liking. You'll get a glance at the new character's abilities and such.

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Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi watched as the hooded figure with the blue color-coded headband raced straight towards Sakura.

"_Hmm..the kid's got guts, but I guess I already knew that," _Jiraiya looked over at his fellow Sannin.

"_Now it's you who's been caught off guard, isn't it?"_

Kakashi was also a little surprised."Well now, this is quite unexpected, wouldn't you say, Tsunade-sama?"

She ran her fingers down her blonde hair. It seemed that after all this time, he still lived up to his name: the number one most unpredictable ninja. But if he thought he was going to take out Sakura easily, he was in for a rude awakening.

Out on the field, Naruto was closing in on her. She punched the ground in front of her, causing a tremor that destroyed the ground beneath him. Naruto jumped in the air to avoid harm.

"_Damn…Tsunade hasn't just been teaching her healing has she?" _

He landed on his feet, but Sakura was already waiting for him. She charged him with a barrage of punches.

"_Just getting hit once by one of these could put me out for good. I have to get away from her!" _

He back flipped away from her, throwing a smoke bomb in midair.

"_Okay, using shadow clones aret of the question, and so is summoning frogs. And rasengan won't do either, it'll give me away in a second, and there's no way I would never use it on Sakura-chan anyway. This is gonna be interesting…"_

He didn't have anymore time to sit and think. Sakura came running out of the smoke, ready to knock his head off.

The rest of the fight was going rather badly for Rakugosha. As Naruto had instructed, they were only using taijutsu. But that was making it difficult for them to get close, with Chouji's Baika no Jutsu and Shikamaru's shadow keeping them away. Still, neither side seemed able to gain any ground. Takahiro was tired of it.

"_Sorry, Kitsune, but we've gotta do something or else this match will go on like this forever."_

He looked over at Akiko and Suki. They nodded.

On the other side of the battlefield, Shikamaru stood calmly. So far, they had only attempted close combat. But they were doing a good job separating Sakura from the rest of them. If any of them got injured, Sakura would be able to have them back up in no time. He stretched his shadow after one of the hooded people, who avoided it.

"_Right now they're not showing any of their techniques, so we have to hold back as well. Still, we're using up more energy trying to fend them off than they are attacking us…"_

He noticed the three of them nod to each other, and the middle one started to form hand signs. This was it, the real battle was about to start. Shikamaru braced himself. He heard the man shout out.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A summoning! Shikamaru watched as a hideous creature took form in front of them. It wasn't anything he had seen before, it was like a pile of slime with arms and legs. It walked towards them menacingly. He heard his two teammates cries for help.

"Shikamaru, help!" called Ino

"Ah…Shikamaru, help us!" Chouji cried.

His two friends were sinking into the ground like quicksand. He tried to pull them out, but to no avail. He watched in vain as their heads submerged. Maybe someone with super strength…

"Sakura, help!"

He looked over his shoulder. Sakura and the other guy weren't there. He looked around. Tsunade and the other spectators weren't there.

"_Shit! Why didn't I see it earlier? This is genjutsu!"_

He tried to concentrate, attempting to break its hold on him. But the monster was already in front of him. It reached out and squeezed him, crushing his body.

"_Damnit, I have to get out!"_

On the battlefield, Ino and Chouji were desperately trying to reach Shikamaru to break the genjutsu, but in a three on two situation, they were being completely overwhelmed. The one wearing the purple dotted forehead protector had set both her hands flat on the ground, and somehow managed to pull out a staff from out of nowhere. She was now swinging away at Ino. The one with the green headband on the cloak's sleeve formed seals too fast for anyone but Kakashi to read.

"Raiton: Sutatikku Baindo!"

(Lightning Element: Static bind)

It successfully stopped the mega enlarged Chouji from moving his feet. In less than 2 minutes, it had all gone to hell for team ten.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was struggling with the genjutsu. The monster was squeezing as tight as ever, cracking his ribs. It was making concentration almost impossible.

"_This genjutsu is something else. It's amazingly strong."_

It was hard for him to breathe.

"_Come on, god knows what's going on out there!" _

He knew he had to calm down. This wasn't real. His ribs weren't actually broken, but the genjutsu controlled all five senses. It felt like they were snapped in two.

"_I can do it…I have to regain control…" _

His body was beginning to feel lighter, the pain decreasing ever so slowly. He was doing it, dispelling the technique. It was extremely advanced though, and wouldn't be broken so easily. But sure enough, the fake world around him was fading.

"_Come on! I need to go faster!" _

He concentrated as hard as he could.

Naruto hadn't landed a single blow on Sakura, but she hadn't managed to do much damage to him either.

"Is that all you can do? Run away and dodge?" she called.

So she wanted to talk trash, did she? Naruto made his voice low.

"Is that all you can do, run around and miss your target?"

Sakura frowned at obviously altered voice. Naruto heard Akiko.

"Maki-san" she called.

Naruto turned to see Shikamaru on the ground and Ino in hand to hand combat with Takahiro. Suki was using all her strength to hold a giant Chouji in place while dodging his elongated arms, and Akiko was holding a metal staff. Naruto automatically knew what she wanted. But, would it be okay if…

"Don't turn your back on me!"

Sakura came charging in once again. Naruto barely escaped, the mere wind created from the force of her punch was enough to throw him off balance and cause a little pain. He threw a kunai with an exploding tag at her feet. She jumped in the air to dodge. Despite her speed, he tracked her movements, already calculating from her trajectory where she was going to land. He threw another one at that exact spot, and it exploded just as she landed. She was sent tumbling across the grass.

"_Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I had to get rid of you so I had time to do this."_

He turned to his teammates again. Shikamaru was conscious, slowly getting to his feet. He knew that Suki couldn't hold such a big object in place forever, and Takahiro had used up a great deal of chakra using an extremely advanced form of genjutsu. If he waited any longer, team 10 would surely regain their composure and be able to fight back. It was now or never. He had to risk it.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

50 clones appeared around him, and they all immediately transformed into shuriken. Akiko ran over to the large pile and absorbed them into her staff. As she did, her weapon became larger and larger. She molded it into a long metal rope and jumped onto Chouji's head and began to wrap the rope around his entire body. Suki was able to release her technique, since Chouji was now completely immobilized.

But Naruto saw things drastically changing. Chouji was out for the moment, but Sakura was back up and healing herself. He knew Takahiro was almost drained, and most likely Akiko was almost at her limit as well. It took a lot of her chakra to mold and absorb the metal, but she could last a little longer. Suki was just fine, and he himself was still brimming with chakra and had no real injuries. The big problem was that Shikamaru had now seen their techniques and was back on his feet. They had to force Tsunade to stop the match. Now. Just one glance at each of them told his teammates what he had in mind.

Another set of shadow clones relieved Takahiro and took over his fight with Ino, while Akiko went after Shikamaru to distract him. Their main goal was the tied up Chouji who was trying to break free. Suki held her hands out on either side of her, and Takahiro and Naruto took their places next to her. With Naruto grasping one hand and Takahiro grasping the other, they began to form joint hand signs with Suki's hands forming one half of the seal, and Naruto and Takahiro's hand formed a perfect symmetrical match to Suki's hand, completing the seal.

Shikamaru watched in pure amazement at what was happening. The middle ninja's hands were staring to glow, one of them a dark blue flowing lightning, the other a pure white swirling wind. This was bad. He had to stop them before they got to Chouji. But the one fighting him now was bothersome. Every time he tried to extend his shadow, she would pull a senbon from out of nowhere, and he'd have to interrupt his jutsu to dodge it. But times were getting desperate. He had to take the hit if he was going to stop that jutsu from reaching Chouji. In desperation, he sent out his Kage Mane one more time.

Seeing her opening, Akiko threw another needle at Shikamaru, but this time he didn't budge. It hit him square in the chest, but his shadow just kept on going, branching off into several tendrils that looked to bind all four of them at one time. He caught Akiko who had been pestering him with senbon.

But Shikamaru may have been too late. It looked like the others were done forming their hand signs. The one with the glowing hands one rubbed them together, creating a light blue energy, and then ran at the helpless Chouji. It was a race. Shikamaru was trying to catch his opponent before Chouji was hit with that…whatever it was. He didn't know if he could make it or not, and the ninja was almost there. Everyone was watching.

The shadow was right on Suki's heels, but she only had a little further to go...

"Ninpo: Futon Raiton Kaimetsu!"

(Ninja Art: Wind Element/Lightning Element Annihilation)

Tsunade didn't have a choice. Shikamaru had a chance to catch her, but she just couldn't risk Chouji's life.

"Stop!" she yelled.

Suki halted, Shikamaru withdrew his shadow.

"We've seen enough. Victory for Rakugosha."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. If that had gone on any longer, the outcome may have been different. The shadow clones surrounding Ino vanished, and the metal rope holding Chouji disappeared. Takahiro offered his hand and helped him up.

"A good fight, young ninja," he said to Chouji.

Akiko went to check on Shikamaru. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied.

Suki went over to an exhausted Ino. Naruto went to Sakura who had finished healing herself. He spoke in his low voice again.

"Looks like you're going to be okay. I'm glad."

She scowled at him. "You're nothing but a coward."

She walked away, heading towards Shikamaru and team 10 to heal their minor wounds. Naruto walked to where his team had gathered. He gave them high fives all around.

"Is anyone hurt?"

They shook they're heads.

"Good. Nice job you guys."

"It's because of your plan, Kitsune. Once we took out Shikamaru, The other two weren't quite sure what to do."

"That's right! That's why I voted Maki-san the leader, after all!"

"I've got to admit, Baka-kun did a good job."

Back on the sidelines, Tsunade and the others were impressed. Kakashi and Jiraiya stood proudly, feeling partly responsible for the team's success. The other jonin had enjoyed the show as well.

"I think Kiba or Shino would fit perfectly with those Rakugosha guys." Kurenai said.

"No!" blurted Tsunade a bit harshly. She laughed nervously when she saw she had startled Kurenai. "Uh…no. I don't think that's a very good pairing at all."

"Me too," said Jiraiya, backing her up, "Kiba and Shino wouldn't mix at all."

Kurenai, her feelings a little hurt from having her idea rejected so soundly, didn't say anything else. Jiraiya winked at Tsunade, and she silently thanked him. Kiba and Shino were the two people that they couldn't put on a team with Naruto. Akamaru would recognize Naruto in a second, and Shino's bugs also had a delicate sense of smell.

Their wounds healed, team 10 went to congratulate the victors. Shikamaru held his hand out to Naruto.

"You're the leader right? Congratulations, it seems you've bested us."

"You didn't make it easy on us, I'll tell you that." He took Shikamaru's hand for a nice, firm shake. The girls couldn't hold back their giggles at his horrible phony voice.

"Alright everyone!" called Kakashi, "in order to reward all of your fine display of talent and hard work, we jonin are treating you all to Ichiraku!"

"YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Chouji was jumping for joy.

Ino slapped her forehead. "Jeez. You get excited about food too easily, Chouji! If you'd moved like that when you were stuck in that rope, maybe you would have gotten out!"

The members of Rakugosha were looking forward to it too. According to Naruto, Ichiraku had the best ramen in all the land, and Naruto had been to many places.


	8. A Good Night's Sleep

Here we are, the next chapter. If the abilities that Rakugosha used in the previous chapter are still a little unclear, I tried to go into more detail here. Next chapter they'll leave for their mission. Thanks again for reading.

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"_Okay, I can't overdo it,"_ Naruto thought silently as they sat at the bar, _"Sakura and the others have already seen me use kage bunshin, and Sakura-chan knows I'm not using my real voice. If I pig out, I'll give myself away for sure!" _

Everyone gave their order to the chef, and he began preparing the huge order. Akiko, Takahiro, and Suki couldn't wait, their mouths already watering from the smell of cooking noodles. Everyone had gathered around Rakugosha, they were sitting in the middle while the adults sat to their right and team 10 sat on the left. They were all still talking about the fight, and were asking the four of them a number of questions.

Shikamaru wanted to know more about the techniques they had used.

"So what exactly do you do with metal?" he asked Akiko.

"I can mold it with my chakra. You saw me absorb all of those shuriken into my staff right? I can shape and manipulate it. Let me show you."

Akiko took her metal spoon. Holding it in her palm, she bent it into a circle. Shikamaru was impressed as he watched the spoon, or what used to be a spoon, dance around in her palm without her so much as touching it. Akiko reached over and grabbed Shikamaru and Takahiro's spoons. They fused together, forming a larger mass of metal, which she shaped into a kunai and stabbed into the countertop.

Ino was still a little puzzled.

"How did you make that staff out of the ground?" she asked.

Akiko was about to answer, but Shikamaru did it for her.

"There are minerals in the ground. Iron, lead, and stuff like that. She was gathering all of those molecules together and was able to get enough to create a staff."

Akiko was pretty impressed herself. _"Just like Maki-san said, this guy is pretty sharp."_

Chouji was more interested in Suki, who had been able to make his feet stuck to the ground. He asked her how she had done it.

"Think of small pieces of paper," she told him, "and how they stick to things after they're statically charged. That's what my jutsu can do, except on a much larger scale."

Kurenai wanted to ask Takahiro about his genjutsu. When she did, he was glad to answer her question.

"It's something my father taught me, back in my village. We were the Miyushi clan, and preferred genjutsu. Basically, the victim is caught in the technique just by looking at the hand signs I use. If all three of them had seen my seals, all of them would have been caught in it. But, the other two were busy fighting to notice. The only one watching closely and analyzing everything was Shikamaru, and that's what did him in. It's the most advanced technique my clan developed."

"I can vouge for him," called Shikamaru, listening in on him, "that genjutsu was something else."

"Ah, but you, my friend, you are the first person I've seen besides Uchiha Itachi to dispel the technique so quicky. That goes to show how strong your willpower and mind are."

Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder. "But did you have to make that thing squeeze me so tight?"

He and Takahiro shared a laugh.

The ramen finally came, and the members of Rakugosha licked their chops. After the customary "Itadakimasu!" they dug in. Under their hoods, their eyes sparkled in pure delight. Naruto whispered to them.

"Didn't I tell you? The first time will be like pure bliss."

His three team mates scarffed down the rest and asked for seconds.

"_This is great!"_ thought Naruto, _"if they eat like this too, then there is no problem with me going all out too!" _

He slurped up his noodles and gulped down the soup, calling to the chef for another bowl. The Rakugosha members were went through bowl after bowl of hot, delicious ramen. The others just watched them.

"Geez. They sure do know how to stuff themselves," Shikamaru commented.

Ino just stared, her spoon stopped halfway to her face, and the soup was trickling back down into her bowl.

"I like these guys!" Chouji said, his mouthful of noodles as he too motioned for another bowl.

Tsunade took this chance to talk to Suki. She had been delightfully surprised with her performance during the fight.

"You're Yasuka, right?" she asked, remembering her name.

The young girl had to swallow her food before answering. "Nope. It's Suki to you, Tsunade-sama!"

They both grinned.

"Suki, then. I really want to know more about that technique you used at the end of the match. That was quite a display."

"Oh, that? That's just a little something we've been working on."

"Just a little something!? You were able to form hand signs in perfect sync with both of your teammates, and on top of that, you held two different types of chakra elements at the same time!"

"Well, it's not as great as you make it sound," said Suki, blushing from being so highly praised by one of the Sannin.

"Hey guys, so what's with all the hoods and secrecy around here?" Shikamaru asked, "you can show us your faces, you know!"

They shifted uneasily in their seats. If they revealed their faces, it would look extremely suspicious when Naruto refused to show his. Naruto told them to do so.

"But why, Maki-san?"

"It would look even more suspicious if you three don't reveal yourselves."

"Baka-kun! But then that will just draw more attention to you!"

"I'll think of an excuse, just trust me on this."

"I'm going to have to agree with Kitsune. Let's take off the hoods."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Maki-san…"

Hesitantly, the three of them showed their faces and introduced themselves. Everyone looked over at Naruto, expecting him to do so as well. He didn't. Tsunade spoke for him.

"You'll have to forgive him," she told everyone, "but for his safety, his face cannot be revealed."

Everyone accepted the reasoning and went back to their food. Sakura, who had kept quiet the entire time, broke her silence. Sipping her soup delicately, she turned to Naruto.

"It's probably just because he's too ugly to show his face in public."

Kakashi stuck up for him.

"What do you mean by that, Sakura? Does that mean you think I must be ugly since I hide my face all the time too?"

"You probably are, Kakashi-sensei" she fired back, a little hurt that he would take the side of the mysterious stranger.

"Don't mind her," Ino said, "she's always been a sore loser. She's used to it, after all. She's been losing out to me her whole life!"

The two girls had a deadly stare down. They crossed their arms and looked away from each other.

After the meal, Rakugosha and team 10 stood across from each other.

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you later. Maybe one of us will be chosen to be under your command."

"You guys are amazing! You guys totally kicked us around today!" said Ino

"Hey, you don't have to sound so excited about getting our asses kicked!" Chouji told her.

"What? No way!" Naruto said, still using his fake voice, "you guys really put up a good fight! On any other day, you probably would have beaten us! And we'll never know whether or not your shadow would have captured Suki or not…"

Shikamaru gave a half-hearted grin. "You guys don't have to be so humble, and you don't have to try and make us feel better either. I'm good at analyzing things. You guys were holding back the entire time."

Sakura protested. "What? How can you be sure?"

Shikamaru went down the list. "You, Takahiro. You could have finished me off at any given time in that genjutsu of yours. Also, any of them could have pierced me with kunai while my body was still unable to move. Akiko could have turned the metal into something more dangerous, like a sword or an axe, but instead she chose to shape it into a staff, a weapon that's blunt and not sharp. I have a feeling that Suki here has much more destructive techniques in her arsenal than just a simple static binding. And Mr. Leader over here didn't really even do anything. He was just keeping Sakura away from the rest of us and didn't really do any fighting at all. We can't even begin to imagine what he's capable of."

"But, I was on him the whole time! Of course he didn't have time to fight, I was-"

"He was toying with you, Sakura. Let's face it: if it were a real battle and they were trying to kill us, we wouldn't have lasted as long as we did. It's a lot harder to defeat someone when you know you have to hold back."

Sakura didn't like it one bit, but being as smart as she was, she had already known it deep down inside. It just killed her to admit it.

"Still, you don't have to praise them so much," she said.

She, Ino, and Chouji started to walk off.

"See you guys!" the blonde girl called, "we just have to get together sometime, Suki!"

"Yeah, we can all eat together again!" said Chouji, "Later, Akiko-chan, Takahiro-kun, Suki, and mystery man!"

Sakura didn't say goodbye. Shikamaru grinned at the four Rakugosha.

"Well, I guess I'll be going too. If we don't see each other before you leave on the mission, then take care of yourselves, Akiko, Takahiro, Suki."

He turned his back and walked off after the others, but he stopped after taking only four steps.

"And you too, Naruto."

With that, he hurried to catch up to his team. Naruto looked after him and shook his head.

"That's Shikamaru for you. That guy can figure anything out."

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Tsunade and the others sat in her office, going over profiles and discussing who should accompany Rakugosha. She planned to lend three chuunin level ninja to Naruto's group. The first two had already been decided, and now the jounin were arguing over who should fill the third spot. Right now, she was looking at Rock Lee's profile. He did have talent, and Naruto's group did lack some brute force…

"I elect chuunin Rock Lee" she announced to everyone in the room.

"Him, eh?" pondered Kakashi, "well, putting the fact that he can't use jutsu aside, his hand to hand combat is top notch and his speed is far beyond most ninja at his level. Still, how would he fare against an agent of Akatsuki?"

He was right. Akatsuki members had mastery of many jutsus. Lee, a taijutsu specialist, might not have the best qualities to face off against them. Gai had squared off against Kisame just fine, but Lee still had many years to go before he caught up with his sensei.

Kurenai snapped at him. "You've rejected every single chuunin we've selected, Kakashi! You've turned down each and every one of our top chuunin!"

He gave her an odd look, but because of his mask, she could only see him roll his right eye.

"I didn't say that I rejected any of them. I was just simply pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. Did you ever hear me say the words 'I don't approve of this candidate'?"

Kurenai threw her hands in the air, frustrated. They couldn't come to an agreement. This was going to take a while.

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Naruto opened the door to his old house. It hadn't changed. Everything was where he had left it. The team had planned on sleeping outside the city walls, but Naruto had insisted that they stay somewhere in the city, saying that they deserved something a little more luxurious.

"Luxurious huh?" said Suki, looking around at the dusty room, "Baka-kun, you do realize this place is a dump, right?"

"I told you that I would pay for a room at the hotel if you wanted!" Naruto defended himself.

"But you wanted to stay overnight in your old house. We can't let you sleep here alone," she said.

Akiko was searching the rooms. "It is kind of cool, though, staying where Maki-san used to live."

Takahiro sat back on the couch. "So you lived here all by yourself, huh?"

"Yeah." Naruto was lost in his memories. "It's not that big, but it was home."

Thet all kicked back and relaxed, still tired from their fight. Takahiro, who had used up the most chakra, had already crashed out on the couch. Naruto was in the shower.

He had had a very unexpected day. He was back in the village, he saw his two old teachers, he fought with team ten, and now he was staying the night in his old house. But the best part of it all was seeing Sakura. He had fought with her, and she didn't have a clue who he was, but seeing her again…

She was his first thought in the morning, his last thought before he went to bed. She was his entire motivation, what kept him going each and every day. All of this, everything he had been through, all the trials he had faced would be worth it in the end just to see her happy smile.

He heard the door bathroom door open.

"Hey, you got any hair clips in here, or rubber bands?" It was Suki. "Akiko's going to braid my hair."

"Why the hell would I have that kind of stuff in here?" Naruto yelled from the other side of the shower curtain, "do I look like a girl to you?"

She giggled. "Well, you did this afternoon in the hotel room!" She heard Naruto slip in the shower.

"You're really clumsy sometimes, sheesh!"

"It's your fault, barging in here and making fun of me!" Naruto said. He heard her opening the bathroom cabinets.

"Aw…what's up with this? You don't have any, after all. It seems Naruto-baka is useless after all."

"What did I just tell you? Why would I need those things anyway? I lived by myself, and you know I never really do anything with my hair!"

Suki sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. I won't be able to look pretty for that Chouji guy tomorrow." She laughed softly at the noise that Naruto made. It was just so much fun to mess with him.

Naruto got a hold of himself in the shower. "You look better with your hair down anyway, Suki. You really should wear it naturally from time to time."

Suki wiped the fog off of the mirror and looked at herself. "You really think so, huh?"

"Yeah, with your hair like that, it really brings out your eyes. And don't I always tell you that you have beautiful eyes?"

She smiled softly, but soon it turned into a mischievous grin. She took the towel that was hanging on the rack.

"Don't take all the hot water, Naruto-baka, me and Kiko still want to hop in the shower too."

"I'm almost done," he said, and he heard the door close.

After a few more minutes he turned of the water and reached out for his towel. It wasn't there. He pulled the curtain aside.

"Damnit, Suki!"

He could hear the two girls laughing their heads off. He cracked open the bathroom door, peeking his head out. Akiko and Suki were sitting on the bed, their faces red from laughing so much.

"Hey, I order you to come give me back my towel!" he demanded.

"If you want it, Baka-kun, come out here and I'll give it to you."

Naruto mumbled something that the girls couldn't hear. "Oi, Hiro, come help me out!"

Takahiro, who hadn't been snoring before, was now snoring quite loudly.

"Well, it looks like he's sleeping!" laughed Akiko.

Naruto cursed even more under his breath.

"Are you going to sit there mumbling, or are you coming out to get this?" Suki stood up and held the towel out for him.

The door closed for a second and then opened all the way. Soaking wet and in his underwear, Naruto walked across the room to Suki, who smiled sweetly at him. He glared at her furiously, and shot a glance at Akiko as well. He snatched the towel firmly out out her hands, and Suki kissed him, a slight peck on the cheek.

"Was that so hard?" she asked innocently.

Naruto turned back around, muttering to himself all the way back to the bathroom and slammed the door.

He heard the room erupt into laughter behind him. Naruto was still blushing in embarrassment when he came out.

"It's free now. You girls can go ahead."

"You can go ahead, Suki, I can wait," Akiko told her.

Suki went into the bathroom and shut the door. Akiko noticed Naruto putting his shoes back on.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Just feel like going for a late night stroll. Wanna come with me?"

"I'd like to, but Suki would be mad at me if I left her here alone."

"What if I told you I'd be mad at you if you didn't come with me?" he said

Akiko smiled. "I'd rather face a million of your angry clones than one angry Suki."

"I hear you," he said, opening the door, "I won't be long."

"Have a nice walk, Maki-san."

He shut the door behind him.

Naruto walked the quiet city streets, kicking a rock along with him. He walked to the memorial stone. He ran over the smooth marble with his fingers. Some of these people had been put on the stone because of the kyuubi. He found two names that he recognized. Umino. Iruka-sensei's parents.

He walked up the steps, climbing the mountain on which the faces of past Hokages had been carved. He used to come up here a lot, just to pass the time. Staring up at the Third, he remembered how kind the third was. He was one of the few people that believed in Naruto. Now he was dead, killed by the man that Naruto was hunting. Sandaime knew that he could do it, and always rooted for Naruto to do his best.

"_Old man,"_ he thought, _"I won't let you down._"

He walked further along, going nowhere in particular. But soon he found himself right outside of Sakura's house. The lights were all off. He stood there with his hands in his pockets for a while, and then headed back to his house. He entered quietly, not wanting to wake any of his companions if they were sleeping. He heard the girls' voices. He found them with their sleeping bags on the floor.

"What do you two think you're doing?" he said.

"What? We're just having a little chat before bedti- Baka-kun, what the hell!?" He had lifted Suki off the ground and carried her to his room. He dropped her onto the bed.

"I won't have you two sleeping on the floor," he said firmly to Suki. He went back into the other room to Akiko, leaving a somewhat startled Suki on his bed.

"There's room for two, you know. It's a queen size bed."

"You should take it, Maki-san." Akiko told him.

"Don't be silly. I insist. The floor is no place for a girl to sleep when there's a perfectly good bed around."

"It's okay. We all wanted you to be able to sleep in your old bed tonight."

"That's nice of you, but you're too good for the floor, Aki-chan."

"Oh, shut up. I'm sleeping right here, and there's nothing you can do about it. Now go sleep in your bed and have a good night's sleep."

Naruto's firm expression turned soft. He smiled at her.

"Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight, Maki-san."

Naruto walked back into his room. Suki looked up as he entered. He climbed under the sheets and turned off the lamp.

"Goodnight Suki."

"If you try anything, I will kill you, Baka-kun."

She laid there in the darkness, her eyes on the ceiling. She could hear Naruto's steady breathing. He was asleep. She watched his chest rise and fall. Suki smiled to herself. She was so happy for him. He got to see his old friends, his old town, and he even got to see Sakura. To be quite honest, she had been a bit jealous when she first saw her. She was really pretty.

Suki sighed. It had been a weird day, but a good one. Any day that she could watch him so happy and cheerful was a good day for her.

"Goodnight…Naruto," she said quietly before closing her eyes and surrendering to her weariness.


	9. Midnight Lily

I just realized that like 2 million other Naruto fics have the same title as this one, so I'm gonna try to rename it pretty soon. Thanks to everyone who reads this story. It will continue to somewhat follow the events of the manga, with the Rescue Gaara Arc and all. I'm not sure I'll be able to get the next one out as fast as I've been doing the others, but I'll try. Hope you like the chapter.

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Naruto was the first to wake up. He took a moment to look over his sleeping teammates before heading out the door. It felt nice to wake up in Konoha. He couldn't help but feel refreshed. He had forgotten how quiet it was in the morning. A few shop keepers were preparing for the day, and some ninja were out paroling the streets, but other than that the streets we empty.

He wanted to treat everyone to a nice breakfast. They hadn't eaten a nice home cooked meal in weeks. Sure, they had eaten at Ichiraku, but sometimes the best food was cooked in a kitchen at home. He picked up a few ingredients from the general store and was headed back to his house when he noticed the Yamanaka flower shop.

Inside, Ino was rearranging some bouquets and making sure everything was perfect. Her back was turned, so she didn't see him, but she had heard him come in.

"Welcome, I'll be with you in a second." She continued to make sure everything looked good and was in the right spot.

"There we go!" she said, finishing up, "now what can I do for, oh!" She had turned to see Naruto standing there.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite mystery man!"

"Yeah, nice to see you again…Ino, was it?"

"That's right!" she said cheerfully. "So what are you looking for?"

"Well, do you think you could help me with something? I'm not really that great at these kinds of things…"

He told her what he was looking for.

"Ah, for her, eh?" Ino said with a smile. "I'll tell you what. You tell me which one you would have picked out for her if I wasn't here to help you."

Naruto looked around the shop, not really sure what he was looking for. But then he saw something that caught his eye. It was a light yellow flower. The ends of the petals were a dark purple color. For some reason, it reminded him of her.

"What about that one?" he said, pointing it out.

"You see, you have a better talent for this than you know. That was the flower I was going to recommend. It's called a Midnight Lily, and it'll match her perfectly. How did you choose that one?"

"Well, it sort of reminded me of her, that's all."

"Uh huh…" Ino smiled at him.

Naruto pulled out his wallet.

"There's no need for that. This one's on me, mystery man. And good luck on the mission."

Naruto thanked her and walked out. The came to life as he walked back, children played in the streets, and people were going about their busy lives. They were all still sleeping when he got back. He turned on the stove and laughed suddenly. He realized that he had never used this thing his whole life. There was a first time for everything…

Akiko woke up to the smell of food. She got up and stretched groggily.

"So how was the floor?" Naruto asked.

"It was great," she said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

"What smells so good?"

"Just a little something. I thought I'd cook breakfast for you today. It's my thanks for sleeping on the floor for me last night." Naruto said.

"Aw…how sweet. But you didn't have to, Maki-san."

"Go on, have a seat. It'll be ready in a minute."

She sat at the table and Naruto poured her a glass of juice. He made a plate and handed it to her. She took it thankfully.

"Hmm…this isn't half bad, Maki-san! I like it!"

"Eat up, then. Maybe by eating some home cooked meals you'll grow a little taller!" he teased.

"You bastard. You know I could turn this fork into a knife and stab you with it, right?"

Naruto laughed as he threw some more food on the pan. Takahiro was next to wake up. When he saw Naruto cooking, he was a little surprised. Pulling out a chair, Takahiro sat next to Akiko, who was busy chewing her food. Naruto poured him a glass of juice and gave Akiko a refill on hers.

"Okay, yours is done, Hiro. Give it a try." He handed him the plate. Takahiro put a little in his mouth. He sat there for a minute, judging the taste.

"I must say, Kitsune, I'm really impressed! This is good news, now you can help me cook while we're traveling!"

Suki woke up to the voices of her friends in the other room. She rose to her feet slowly, and headed into the hallway. Entering the kitchen, she found Akiko and Takahiro eating contently and Naruto at the stove. She walked up behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder, looking down at the two eggs and sausage that was frying on the pan.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" she asked.

"If you want any, you'll sit down and be quiet," he said.

Suki sat at the table and looked over at the other two.

"Well, they haven't fallen over dead yet, so I guess that's a good sign."

She was poured a glass of juice too, and Naruto sat at the table with two plates in hand. He handed one to Suki.

"Here goes nothing." She cut a piece and brought it to her mouth. It was good. It wasn't the best thing she'd ever had, but the fact that it was a home cooked meal prepared for her by Naruto gave it a certain taste…

"Meh," she said, "It'll do."

Naruto started to eat as well. For some reason he felt really happy, and he just now realized why. His three teammates saw him looking at them.

"What?"

"I just realized…this is the first time that I haven't eaten alone at this table, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to share this breakfast with than the three of you."

They all smiled back at him. Naruto looked at each of their smiles. A warm feeling came over him. He knew that these three would support him no matter what, and would never hesitate to put their lives on the line for him. He would do the same for them. After a childhood alone, Naruto had finally found himself a family. He ate his breakfast, enjoying the company he was in.

As soon as they all had finished, there was a knock at the door.

"Naruto-kun, it's me!" Shizune called. "Tsunade-sama wants to see you."

The four of them rushed to get all of their things together and rushed out the door.

"Hold on, Maki-san, what about the dishes?" Akiko called.

"They'll be here when I get back, whenever that's gonna be."

She nodded and went to wait outside the front door with the others.

"Everyone got everything?" Naruto asked them, making them do one last check of their packs and equipment. They nodded.

"Hold on, I'm the one who forgot something." He ran back inside, took the picture of him, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi, folded it up, and put it in his pocket.

He took one last glance at the inside of his house and shut the door.

Led by Tsunade's apprentice, the four of them moved silently down the bustling streets.

Tsunade waited patiently in her office, a bottle of sake to keep her company. She could wait for until the end of time as long as she had some sake with her. She had spent hours with the jonin, trying to put a team together that would work well with Naruto. In the end, they were all just sick and tired of it, only voting on the last member just so they could be done with it. But she felt confident in their choices, and knew that Naruto would lead them well.

They had finally arrived, and they all took off their hoods.

"Ah, so you guys are here." Her bottle of sake had vanished from her desktop.

"Hey, we have to leave pretty soon, granny, Akatsuki's not going to just wait up for us, you know."

"I was just about to say that, Naruto. We've already picked out your three additional members. Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Haruno Sakura. I told them to meet you at the front gates in five minutes. That is all."

Akiko, Takahiro, and Suki all gave a bow before heading out. Naruto just said, "later, granny."

They made their way to the main gates, all of them with their hoods down besides Naruto. He was thinking about why Tsunade picked those three guys. Sakura was easy, she was the best healer in the village next to Tsunade and Shizune. Shikamaru was an obvious choice as well, with his ability to strategize. But why Chouji? Chouji…that reminded him of something.

"Suki! I forgot I went and got you something this morning!"

They all stopped, and Suki turned to him.

He reached out and pushed back the hair that was covering her face.

"Sorry I didn't have anything for your hair at my house. But like I said, you look better with your hair the way it is now."

He stuck the Midnight Lily behind her ear.

"There. I brought this flower for you so…" he said, "now you'll look your best for Chouji!"

He laughed at his own joke and walked away, the other two following behind him. Suki took the flower and brought it to her nose, taking in the sweet fragrance. Smiling to herself, she put the flower back behind her ear and followed her comrades.

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Chouji were waiting for them, and Ino had decided to tag along to keep them company. She saw Suki wearing the lily.

"That's a beautiful flower, Suki," she said, giving Naruto a quick glance and a grin.

"Oh, thank you," Suki replied, doing the same.

"If everyone's ready," Naruto said, "I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

Shikamaru nodded. "We're all ready, and we've been told to follow you're ever order."

"In that case, Rakugosha! Team 10! Let's get going!"

Four pairs of eyes rolled at his horrible, horrible phony voice.


	10. The Lily and the Cherry Blossom

I must apologize. The previous chapter and this chapter are relatively short. But I promise to make the next one incredibly long :P. In this one I flashed to Sasuke for like two seconds, just to show that I haven't completely forgotten him, as he is still an extremely vital character…

And never fear! I have two pivotal Akatsuki battles planned in the near future where Naruto will show us exactly what he's been doing these past 2 ½ years.

Also, expect a little mature content language in chapters to come, since Akatsuki are a bunch of foul mouthed hooligans…if you're 12 and under, you can still read it, just don't tell your parents :)

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The members of Akatsuki stood in formation. All nine of them were needed for the extraction of a bijuu. In the middle of their circle was the Kazekage's glowing body, his life, his soul, his demon being drained from him. From atop one of the finger-like pillars, Zetsu announced his newest discovery.

"We have company. That group we've been after, the one with the kyuubi boy, he's on his way here with three Konoha ninja."

Itachi's red eyes flashed his way.

"Who are the three ninja from Konoha? Is Kakashi one of them?"

"No," Zetsu said, "it seems they are only chuunin rank."

Kisame laughed. "Just those four runts and three leaf chuunin? Does Tsunade want them to die?"

"How many times have we failed to capture him, Kisame? Don't look down on Naruto-kun when you haven't been able to defeat him." Itachi's voice was especially cold.

Kisame knew better than to argue with him when he was like this.

"How far away are they?" came Itachi's voice yet again.

"Almost to Sunagakure. They will arrive in the city in about a day."

"Who cares?!" Kisame growled, "What are a bunch of chuunin level ninja gonna do?"

"If that boy unleashes the kyuubi," Itachi replied, "they'll be able to do quite a bit."

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Naruto and company sped through the trees. He couldn't take his mind off of Gaara. He was finally learning how to love and how it felt like to be loved in return. Then those Akatsuki bastards had to go and take him away. He balled his hands into fists.

"_You just hold on, Gaara, I'm coming to save you!"_

Shikamaru came up alongside him.

"We've been going at a pretty intense pace," he called, "and we haven't rested in quite a while."

"You sure are the same old lazy bum I remember, Shikamaru!"

"And you're the same clueless loser. But it's not me who's tired, its Sakura."

Shikamaru's lips formed a small grin as he watched Naruto jump to the ground below. Everyone else followed his lead.

"We can rest here for a bit," he said, "but we can't stay long."

Naruto sat on a rock and observed everyone dropping their packs. Chouji had opened up a new bag of chips. He saw Takahiro and Shikamaru talking, and they walked over to him.

"Kitsune, why don't you just show them who you are?"

"Yeah, Kitsune," Shikamaru emphasized the word, "Chouji won't tell anyone, and you know Sakura won't either. Besides, she'd be really happy to see you again."

Naruto stared at her. She was sitting beside Chouji, telling him that he'd get cramps while they were running if he ate too much.

"You have no idea how much I want to…but I just can't do it yet."

"Why not?" asked Shikamaru.

"It's just…I dunno. I feel like I can't face her until I bring Sasuke back. It's kind of a weird situation…troublesome, like you always say."

"It's only troublesome if you make it, Naruto."

"Have you ever thought about telling her how you feel, Kitsune?"

Naruto sighed. "Even if I did…she loves Sasuke. Nothing in the world can change that."

"But if you tell her how you feel-"

He cut Shikamaru off. "I just can't, okay? If I did…no….its pointless."

"If it's so pointless, then maybe it's time to move on…" Takahiro suggested.

Naruto laughed sadly. "I'm already in too deep for that, Hiro. I don't think I could fall for any other girl, even if I tried."

"Will you be okay with that?" asked Shikamaru.

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked at him questioningly.

"Watching the one you love from afar and being lonely for the rest of your life. Will you be okay with that?"

Naruto took his time answering.

"I only want to see her happy. If she's happy, I'm happy. And as for loneliness, it's a far too familiar emotion for me…and I have my friends…"

"It's not the same, Kitsune, you can have your friends around and still fell lonely. That's a selfless thing to say, 'if she's happy, I'm happy'. Being selfless is a good quality, and you are the most selfless person I know, but from time to time it's good to be selfish and fight for the things you want."

"Fight for what I want, huh? But what if it's just a hopeless battle?"

Takahiro smiled at his leader, his hand squeezing Naruto's shoulder. "In my time with you, I've learned that there is no such thing."

"That's right," said Shikamaru, "aren't you the one who never gives up no matter the odds?"

Naruto was still staring at Sakura in the background.

"We've wasted enough time, time to go," he told the two men standing in front of him.

Takahiro gave him an irritated look. He was trying to avoid this conversation. "This is the only problem I've seen you run away from, rather than facing it head on. Take my advice. You'll regret it if you keep on running."

Takahiro walked away. Shikamaru, turning to follow him, also had parting words.

"Or, if you want to live a dark, lonely, depressing life trying to convince yourself with that 'if she's happy I'm happy' bullshit, then that's fine too."

He left Naruto to his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Akiko and Suki sat together, leaning up against the wide bark of a large tree.

"So have you ever considered telling him how you feel?" Akiko asked Suki.

Suki was twirling the flower in her hands.

"Even if I did, he's in love with that Sakura girl. I've seen the way he looks at her. He'll never have eyes like that for me."

"But you two get along so well. You act like a couple all the time."

Suki sighed.

"He sees me as a close friend, maybe even family. Sure, we're close, but you and Taka-san are close to him too."

"Yeah, well I sure didn't get a pretty flower from him," Akiko said, "the way I see it, you either try to make it work with him or move on."

"I can't do either. I can't confess, and I can't move on. Even if I did find someone I love as much as him, I'd never be able to give my whole heart. Part of it will always love Naruto."

"So will you sit on the sidelines, wanting who you can't have for the rest of your life. Will you do nothing?"

"It seems I'm doomed to do so, yes." Suki said sadly. She continued to twirl the flower, her eyes perplexed by the simple yet elegant design.

"You two really are great together though. You're the cutest couple! I personally don't think he matches with her at all!" Akiko tried to cheer her friend up.

"Oh really? That's good to hear, I thought I was the only one who thought so."

The girls shared a laugh together, a laugh that didn't go unnoticed by the other people present.

"Well, whatever happens, I'm rooting for you two. Suki and Maki-san are my best friends, I want to see you together!"

"Thanks, Kiko."

Sakura was tired of watching Chouji eat, and she was tired of his "but I need to eat for my jutsu!" excuse. She sat alone now. Shikamaru sure had become quite friendly with that Takahiro guy. She didn't know what it was about Rakugosha's mysterious leader, but he sure got on her nerves. The other girls were chatting with each other under a nearby tree. They seemed friendly enough…

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked, walking over.

They looked at each other, and then smiled at her. "Sure, have a seat!"

Sakura sat down next to Suki.

"What were your names again? Akiko and Suki?"

"That's us!" Akiko smiled. Suki gave Sakura a sad attempt at a smile and looked down at the dirt.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Sorry if I seemed rude the other day at Ichiraku, not saying much and everything…"

Akiko laughed it off. "Don't worry about it, Haruno-san. So you're the best medical ninja in Konoha besides the Hokage, right?"

Sakura blushed lightly. "Well, I guess."

"We'll all be counting on you then. Well, I won't because I'll be fine, but Suki here is a clumsy fighter!"

Suki perked up when she heard this and stared at Akiko crossly.

Sakura gave a chuckle. "Ok then, I'll keep a close eye on you, Suki-san."

"Gee, thanks," Suki said, still piercing Akiko with her fiery eyes.

Over on his rock, Naruto stood up.

"We need to get going, everyone. We'll reach the Sand village within a day."

Sakura moved to get her things. "It was nice talking to you…"

When she left, Akiko turned to Suki.

"She seems nice. Too bad she's our mortal enemy."

Suki's evil glare was negated and replaced with the slightest of smiles.

They all got up and Chouji finished his last chip, savoring the taste. With everyone ready, Naruto led the way once again. Suki inhaled the Midnight Lily's sweet smell one more time before taking off, the flower firmly positioned behind her ear.

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The medical ninja of the Sand stood constant watch over Kankuro. But his injuries were beyond their skill to heal. He had been infected with a deadly poison, and had a day at the most to live. His sensei, Baki, was desperate to see that Kankuro would make it. He went to seek help from the oldest, wisest shinobi of the village.

"Honoralbe elders, we could use your help. Your knowledge of poisons is vast."

"Our role in this village is over, Baki. We'll leave it to you, the young generation, to deal with the Sand's problems now."

"But perhaps you can assist us with Kankuro's condition!"

The old woman's voice took on a harsh tone. "There's another person more suited than I to treat him, that slug woman of Konoha. We're allies now, aren't we? You should ask her."

"She is the Hokage now, Chiyo-sama, and her village needs her there. We requested their aid two days ago, but it takes three days to get here from their village."

Chiyo frowned. "I can take a look at him, but I can't guarantee anything. Why do you young ones have to rely on an old lady like me, anyway? This is not my generation. It's yours."

"But, we are ninja of the same village. It is your duty to aid in whatever way possible," Baki said.

"I've done my part for this village. You should just leave us alone in peace. You're lucky I'm being so generous as to look over your student.I don't care about any Akatsuki."

"You should," Baki told her, "the one who poisoned my student is the same man who left this village years ago, the puppet master known as Sasori of the Red Sand."

Chiyo's face didn't show it, but she had suddenly developed an interest in this whole turn of events.

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"Excellent work, Sasuke-kun."

Orochimaru was pleased. Kabuto was on the floor, defeated, as Sasuke stood over him.

"You are improving greatly," Orochimaru said, his tongue darting out and licking his lips, "and those eyes…I can't wait for them to be mine!"

Kabuto healed himself, his cells regenerating at the place where Sasuke had managed to get him with his sword.

"Neither can I," said Sasuke, "for only after my eyes belong to you can they finally see the death of Itachi."

"Your friend Naruto seems to have moved on to doing more useful things for us, like going after Akatsuki," Kabuto said.

"That child has been nothing but a thorn in my side. He's not a real threat, but annoying all the same. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

"I don't care about that. Just train me."

Kabuto looked amused. "But what if they find us? Would you be able to kill your best friend?"

"I'll kill anyone if it means I get to kill Itachi. If Naruto or anyone else gets in my way I won't hesitate. Now shut up and train me."

"How many times have I told you, do not speak to Orochimaru-sama in such a disrespectful-"

The glare Kabuto got from Sasuke was enough to make him back down.

"As you wish, Sasuke-kun. Let's continue…"


	11. Preparation

Hey all. Thanks for continuing with this story. To be honest, even I don't know which girl Naruto is going to end up with. I've always been a NaruSaku fan myself, but I just don't know. I think it might be time to take out a quarter, give it a flip, and let the hands of fate decide. It took a little longer for me to get this chapter out, but I've had a lot going on. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter…it's longer than the last one and was a little difficult to write since I wasn't sure about where to progress with the pairing and not really sure about the exact coordination of the fight yet so I wasn't really sure of what to write. Like I said before, it follows the manga somewhat with the events and characters.

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They made it to Sunagakure at dawn and were greeted at the gates by a frantic Temari. She urgently took Sakura's hand and led her to Kankuro's hospital room. That was two hours ago, and the girls hadn't been seen since, locking themselves within the room along with other Sand medical ninja. But, as Rakugosha sat awaiting the news, the two girls walked out of the room, the blonde Sand jonin's arms supporting a fatigued Sakura. Seeing this, they all rose to their feet, anxious to hear any word on Kankuro's condition. It was Temari who gave them the report.

"He'll be fine, thanks to Sakura. He'll be up soon so we'll be able to talk to him."

A sigh of relief swept through the air, and Temari sat Sakura down on the nearest seat, and Chouji and Shikamaru went over to them to see how she was doing. Naruto and everyone else crowded into the room gathered around Kankuro's bed. His eyes twitched, and he groaned at the pain from his headache as he woke. The first thing he saw was Akiko and Suki.

"Aw, man…you guys angels aren't you? Damnit! I'm dead!" He was still a little out of it, and his talking was more of a mumble, but his words still caused the two of them to blush heavily.

"Whatever Sakura-chan did to heal him must have temporarily affected his eyesight!" Naruto laughed.

The malice in their stares was indescribable.

"That voice," Kankuro strained to try to remember where he had heard it before. Suddenly awake, his eyes grew wide as he put a face to the voice.

"Uzumaki Naru-mmph!"

Naruto's hand struck out like a snake to cover his mouth. He shot a cautious glance out the doors to Sakura and Chouji. They hadn't heard.

"What the hell?" Kankuro said angrily, ripping Naruto's hand from his face. "You got a lot of nerve coming in here, Uzu-mmmm!!!"

Naruto again muffled his voice with one hand. "Don't say that name," he pleaded to Kankuro, "please don't call me that."

The other man still stared at him in anger, but nodded in understanding. Naruto removed his hand.

"Quite a rude bunch of kids we have here, bursting in and treating an injured patient like that!"

They all turned to see an old woman, who apparently they hadn't seen standing in the corner.

""If you're friend there didn't just save Kankuro's life, I'd chase you youngsters all the way back to the gates of Konoha."

Naruto rose to meet her threatening tone. "We're not from Konoha, old woman."

Her eyebrows rose, leaving even more wrinkles on her forehead. "You're not the Sand's allies? Then why have you come here?"

"Our group here is acting in accordance with the Hokage, an old acquaintance of mine. Also, I want to help save the Kazekage, whom I know personally."

"An acquaintance to the Hokage and a personal friend of the Kazekage? One as young as yourself? Do you really expect me to buy that?" The old woman was staring into Naruto's eyes, concealed by the overdrawn tan hood.

"He's not lying, Chiyo-sama," Kankuro called from the bed, "he is what he says."

Chiyo's eyes still analyzed Naruto's, but she shrugged and took her place in the corner once again.

"On a more important note," said Naruto, turning to Kankuro, "Akatsuki, what kinds of techniques did the pair who came after Gaara use?"

Chiyo leaned in intently.

"The one who captured Gaara seemed to be a long range fighter who specializes in explosives. The other was a puppet user like me…his mastery of puppets has earned him the nickname Sasori of the Red Sand."

A silent Chiyo frowned in the corner, and Naruto found himself frowning as well. "So it isn't a team we've faced before."

He called Shikamaru into the room. Temari and Chouji came with him.

"What is it?" he asked in his usual lazy manner.

"It looks like we have a puppet user and a long ranged explosives specialist," Naruto informed him.

Shikamaru sighed. "Geez. Sounds troublesome."

"Alright, go ahead and ask Kankuro anything you think is important. I'm going to go see what can be done about our preparations.""

Naruto left Shikamaru and the other Rakugosha at Kankuro's bedside. He found Sakura resting outside, and knelt beside her.

"What do you think? How long until you're back up to full strength?"

"I should be fine in a couple of hours," she replied, "I just have to rest."

"Then rest well. We'll need you to be in top shape."

He sat out there with her for a while longer.

"_Even in your sleep, Sakura-chan…you're beautiful."_ The thought crossed his mind while watching her.

He failed to notice the others coming out of the operation room. Shikamaru filled him in on the rest of the details. Kankuro knew exactly where they had taken Gaara, it was only two hours away, one if they hurried.

"Take Sakura-chan to a room to rest," Naruto instructed Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru took Sakura and headed off, Chouji and his bag of chips following close behind.

"As for the rest of you, how is your equipment looking?"

His team members checked their packs.

"I'm running low. And there's not much minerals out here in the desert to work with." Akiko turned her pouch upside down. Nothing fell out.

"I'm almost out too. Naruto-baka, you are the supposed leader! Wasn't it your job to check our supplies before we left on this mission?"

Naruto forced an unconvincing laugh. "Well, better late than never, right?"

Suki just muttered something about an "idiot" under her breath.

"Not to worry, Kitsune, we can head to the market now, since we have time."

This was their first time to Sunagakure, and the crowded marketplace was full of foreign items. Oddly shaped weapons, desert foods, and local goods were everywhere; Naruto and the gang had never seen anything like them. Akiko stocked up on all the metal she could ask for, while the others bought the basic things: kunai, shuriken, whatever they thought they might need for the upcoming fight. While they were browsing stores, Naruto felt like he should thank them.

"You guys," Naruto said as they walked, "thanks."

"Your welcome!" said Akiko, "but…I don't know what for…"

"This mission has nothing to do with Orochimaru. This is my own personal mission to save someone I know. You guys didn't have to come along, but you did anyway."

"You forget," said Takahiro, "that Akatsuki is our enemy as well. They took out Sato and Baine, and we have to make sure they don't hurt anyone anymore. They hunt you, Kitsune. I'm glad that it's us going after them, this time."

"And did you think that we'd just let you go running off by yourself, Naruto-baka? Honestly, thank you is not needed. Would you thank the sun for shining or the sky for being blue?"

Naruto shook his head at the word Suki had added to the end of his name.

"Will you ever stop calling me that?" he asked.

"Sure, if you ever stop being an idiot!" she said to him.

He just sighed. He thought to himself, _"I guess this is how Tsunade feels when I call her Old Lady and Granny…"_

They were on their way back to the hospital to check up on Sakura and the others, but it was them who came looking for Naruto. The ninja from Konoha jumped out in front of them, looking ready to go.

"We're ready to go. We can't afford to wait any longer." Shikamaru said. "We'll move out under your orders."

Naruto looked over at Sakura. "Have you had enough time to rest? It's only been an hour and a half."

"I'm fine," Sakura replied, "and ready to go."

"Okay then. Everyone, let's move out!"

Three tan cloaks ruffled as Rakugosha took off, followed by Chouji and Sakura. Shikamaru caught Naruto's shoulder as he turned to go.

"Listen. I know you don't like being called the leader, and that the group makes decisions as a unit. But we're under direct orders from The Fifth to follow your commands on the battlefield. Our lives are in your hands. I've never known you to be a great leader, but I know you care about your comrades and would do anything to see them return from a mission safely."

Naruto didn't know what to say, and his expression said so. Shikamaru continued.

"The point is, we may call you an idiot and things like that, but there isn't anyone else who we'd feel more comfortable leading us into a fight right now. That's all I wanted to say."

Naruto looked gratefully at his friend. "Shikamaru, there's something you should know."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Gaara…you know there is a demon inside of him right? That' s why Akatsuki kidnapped him. Well, I…inside of me…"

"You don't have to tell me, Naruto, I already figured that out ages ago. The kyuubi is in you right?" Shikamaru grinned, picturing the dumbfounded look on Naruto's concealed face.

"But….but how did you…" The blonde was at a loss for words.

"A few things, here and there. There were subtle clues everywhere. And then, when you faced Neji that one time, I sort of figured it out."

"So…when you found out, you weren't scared? I mean you didn't hate me?"

"Of course not. Even though the kyuubi is inside of you, you're still the same old loser I knew growing up. You've had that thing inside you all your life right, and you haven't done anything wrong."

Naruto chose his words carefully. "So…do you think if Sakura knew she…wouldn't…you know…"

This was the one thing that Naruto was afraid of. He hadn't told Sakura about what he was. He couldn't bear the thought of her hating him because if the demon that was sealed inside of him at birth.

"Of all the people in the world, she would care the least. In fact, knowing about it would probably make her even more worried about you. But Naruto, why did you all of a sudden just come out and tell me?"

Naruto looked Shikamaru straight in the eye. "If something happens out there that causes me to lose control, I need you to take the others and run. Knowing them, they'll try to stop me or snap me out of it like idiots. But it could be dangerous, and I don't want any of them getting hurt."

Shikamaru had a serious look on his face. It was an expression that he didn't wear often.

"Has it ever happened to you before?"

"Twice," Naruto said quietly, "Once on my first mission to the Land of Waves, and once when I fought Sasuke. It was like rage took over my body and was controlling every move I made. I was somewhat conscious of what was going on, but I couldn't do anything. All I wanted to do was cause destruction…it's an indescribable feeling. And the next time I lose control, it might be even more powerful than before. It probably would have been triggered if I saw my two other teammates die, but I wasn't there to see it happen…"

"So in times of strong emotion, usually sadness and anger, the seal weakens and allows its chakra to flow through. I see."

"Heh," Naruto laughed, "I guess they don't call you a genius for nothing. I should take you out now, Shikamaru. The elders might choose your smart ass to be Hokage instead of me!"

Shikamaru chuckled. "That may be, but being Hokage is too much work for me. But we'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, getting the Kazekage back is our main goal. If we stand here any longer the battle will start without us!"

Nodding at each other, they took off to catch up with the rest of their group. They knew something big was about to happen.

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"They've left the Sand Village, and are on their way here."

Zetsu's voice bounced off the walls in the dark cavern, echoing into the pitch black quiet.

"We're just about done, though. Then when they get here, all nine of us an crush them like tiny insects." Kisame's laugh was morbid.

"That won't be necessary." Their leader's voice rang out unchallenged. "There is still much to be done, and you all have your assignments. I don't want to waste any time fighting with the likes of them. Two of you should be able to get the job done."

"But how long could it take for all nine of us to crush them? They'll be wiped out in two seconds!" Kisame wanted some blood on his blade.

"But we're pretty much done here, Kisame. And all nine of us staying here to kill them means that we'll all be standing around doing nothing for a few hours. Time must not be wasted standing around while we could be doing other things. The rest of us need not be hindered by waiting for them if only two are required to get the job done. As I said before, you all have your assignments. Sasori and Deidara will stay behind to deal with those kids."

Kisame knew that whatever the leader said couldn't be questioned, but he spoke against him anyway. "But why them? That kyuubi-brat is my responsibility, as well as Itachi's!"

The leader's voice lashed out, echoing loudly. "They are the only ones who have proven capable of capturing a jinchuuriki thus far, so they will be the ones to deal with the boy. Besides, I have another job for you two…"

The other members sat in silence and listened as their leader gave Itachi and Kisame their orders. In the middle of it all, Gaara's motionless body grew closer and closer to death.

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Chiyo raced ahead, her speed quite impressive considering her old age. She just had to catch up to those young ninja. They would be facing Sasori very soon. He was her grandson. She had lost count of how many times she had tried to persuade him to stop his experiments and stop his evil deeds, but in the end she could not bring about his redemption. Now, there was no other choice except his death, a death that Chiyo would rather have done by her own hand. He was beyond her reach, and was too big of a threat to be left alive. She had come to that conclusion years ago.

She caught up to them while they were taking a short break.

"Huh? It's the old lady from the hospital!" It was the rude brat she had talked to back in Kankuro's hospital room.

"I thought I'd tag along with you youngsters." She didn't say it as a suggestion.

"This isn't a stroll in the park, old woman, this is dangerous business!"

Was he using a fake voice? It was sorely obvious to Chiyo.

"I may be old, but back in my day I was a respected shinobi of the Sand. I could probably teach you toddlers a thing or two!"

The hooded leader nodded. "Well, if you can keep up, you can come. Rakugosha, let's move out!"

He seemed very determined to save Gaara. Perhaps he was a personal friend of his after all. Whatever the case, this was an interesting young man. She had to learn more about him. Chiyo ran up alongside Shikamaru.

"Quite an interesting leader you have there. Why, if he has no allegiance to Konoha or Suna, would he be so willing to put his life on the line for the Kazekage?"

Shikamaru stared ahead at Naruto. He certainly was interesting, to say the least.

"He knows the pain and suffering Gaara has had to endure his whole life. He understands the Kazekage more than anyone else. Back when Gaara still murdered people to feel like he was alive, that guy up there was the only one who reached out and helped Gaara see the strength of bonds and friendship."

Without Shikamaru saying it, Chiyo had gotten the point. That kid was also a jinchuuriki.

"To him, the whole deal of villages doesn't matter. He just wants to help out someone who knows the same pain as him. In tht way, he and the Kazekage will always be linked."

Chiyo was deep in thought. The villages didn't matter. This was merely a man trying to help another in need. Alliances and enemies put aside, the leader of this group was charging head first and without hesitation to save the Kazekage no matter what the cost. Times were surely changing. No ninja from any village in the old days would even dare to think like that. The old woman withdrew from Shikamaru and stayed in the back of the group, seemingly lost in a labyrinth of thoughts. She found herself next to the girl who had healed Kankuro and removed the poison so masterfully.

"So you're that slug lady's apprentice, eh?"

Sakura looked up, startled that she was talking to her.

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei taught me all kinds of medical techniques."

"That's good. We'll need your healing on the battlefield, and also to resuscitate the Kazekage. If their goal is to remove the bijuu and make a new jinchuurikki, then Gaara-sama will be in seriously bad shape when we find him."

These were new terms to Sakura.

"Bijuu? Jinchuuriki?"

"You were assigned to this mission without knowledge of such things? Well, the bijuu are tailed beasts with incredible power. There are nine of them in this world. Konoha is quite familiar with one bijuu in particular…the kyuubi. Perhaps you've heard of it."

Indeed, Sakura had heard many stories about the battle between the Fourth and the nine-tailed fox.

"Many nations wanted to claim that power as their own, so they sealed the beasts inside of human beings in hopes that they could control and harness the power of the bijuu for their own purposes. The individuals who had the demons sealed in them were called jinchuuriki. If Akatsuki is planning to remove the Shukaku from Gaara-sama and place it in another person, then the Kazekage will die. That's why we need to hurry."

Sakura ran on. These bijuu seemed awfully terrifying, and after seeing the way it made Gaara act back in the chuunin exams…Sakura concluded that all jinchuuriki must be terrifying as well. But then again, after he fought with Naruto he seemed to have changed for the better, and was even given the position of Kazekage. She smiled for no apparent reason. Naruto had that effect on people. Just knowing him had changed her outlook on life drastically. All of a sudden, she felt quite sad. She wished her old friend were with her now.

Up in front, Naruto called the group to a halt. Up ahead was a cave, it's entrance blocked by a huge boulder.

"That's it," he said to them, "Gaara is in there, and we're going to get him back."


	12. Tragedy and Brotherhood

Hey again. This chapter is the fight with Sasori and Deidara. I'm not a big shot Hollywood fight coreographer, but I did my best so I hope you all like it. Naruto still doesn't really display any of his techniques yet. You'll have to wait for the ultimate showdown I have planned for him :P Okay well, enjoy, and happy holidays to everyone.

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This was it. This rock was the only thing standing in his way. Naruto wasn't about to lose to some dumb rock.

"Sakura-san, kindly turn this rock into dust."

The girl grinned at him. She still had no idea who he was.

"Leave it me," she said.

But Chiyo stopped her.

"Let's not rush into things now. The seal written on this rock repels anyone who gets close to it. We'll need a powerful long range attack. But more importantly, do we have a plan against these guys?"

Naruto had already thought the whole thing out.

"For the explosive fighter, I'll be taking him on with Hiro, Aki-chan, and Shikamaru. Shikamaru and Aki-chan can be long range fighters. The enemy will want to stay away from us and attack from afar, so you two will be doing most of the work while I try to get close to him. Hiro's genjutsu could also come in handy. Sakura-san, Chouji, Suki, and the old lady will take on the puppet master. Suki can cause both close range and long range damage, and she can use incredibly destructive techniques. It could be useful against puppets. Chouji can knock down many opponents in a short period of time, and Sakura-san has her medical abilities if anyone happens to get poisoned, and she has her insane strength. And last but not least, the old lady seems to have something against this Sasori guy. So that's how it will go down. Do you have any objections, Shikamaru? Anyone?"

No one in the group protested. They were ready.

"Well, if there's no problems…Suki, would you like to do the honor?"

"It would be my pleasure, Baka-kun, sir."

Suki stood in line with the boulder, preparing her attack and forming the had signs. Tiger. Ox. Boar. Dragon. Tiger.

"Raiton! Denkou Dengan!" (Lighting Element: Lightning Shot)

She pointed her index and middle finger at her target. A stream of lightning discharged from her fingertips, the thin beam of energy stuck the rock and shot out through the other side. After the lightning subsided, there was only a tiny hole on the face of the smooth surface of the granite. But soon cracks began to spread, and the rock was reduced to rubble.

Naruto, without the slightest hesitation, rushed into the cave. His group hurried to follow him in. Light flooded into the circular cavern. The two men inside shielded their eyes from the sun's sudden invasion of their dark solitude.

"Mmmm…Looks like we've got some company, Sasori-danna."

"You're right. A little jinchuuriki has come to play with us."

Sakura almost tripped over her own legs. That man is a…jinchuuriki? Now she understood all the secrecy. He pointed at the two men in the dark robes.

"You bastards…what have you done with Gaara?!?"

Snickering, the two men stepped aside, revealing Gaara's soulless body.

"The Kazekage is feeling a bit…under the weather" laughed Sasori

"We've taken the Shukaku from inside of him," said Deidara, "and soon we'll have the kyuubi too. So don't worry, you'll see your friend Gaara again, wherever it is jinchuuriki go when they die."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. This person she had been ordered to follow...the nine-tails was sealed inside of him. The stories she had heard from Konoha told that the kyuubi was destroyed by the fourth. Were those stories a lie? Had Tsunade known what this person was the whole time?

Naruto stared at the corpse. Gaara looked as if he was sleeping peacefully, his eyes shut for eternity. Naruto's blue eyes were as cold as ice.

"You…I'll…never forgive you for this!"

The two men brushed off his threat and were chatting casually.

"Shall we commence with the plan then, Sasori-danna?"

"Yes. Although their skill is vastly inferior to ours, an 8 on 2 situation is not at all in our favor. Go ahead with the strategy, as we discussed, Deidara."

A clay bird materialized. The blonde-haired villain mounted it, created a hole in the cave ceiling with an explosion, and took off into the skies. Naruto rushed out of the cave after him.

He yelled, keeping an eye on his airborne opponent. "Where do you think you're going? Your face has an appointment with my fist!"

Akiko, Takahiro, and Shikamaru went after him, as Naruto had instructed. Akiko turned to the four that had been selected to face the puppet handler.

"Good luck, and be careful."

She sprinted off after the rest of her group. Naruto was already way ahead of the rest of them.

Sasori watched four of the kids run out after his partner, and then examined the four that had stayed behind. A fatass. Two cute girls. An old lady. They seemed to be forming a strategy.

"Grandma Chiyo," he called, "are you sure your brittle bones are up for this?"

"I've been waiting to put an end to you for a long time, boy. You'd do well not to take me, or my young friends here lightly."

"You know this jerk, Chiyo?" The other two girls present had asked her the same question at the same time.

"Yes. This man is my grandson."

Chouji was tired of standing around. He was ready.

"I don't care who he is, he's going down!"

He shifted his feet, ready to charge, but Chiyo stopped him.

"Don't be so hasty, pup. He won't be easy to take down. Now, all of you, listen up."

Sasori watched them huddle together. She was old, but he knew that she was still a competent shinobi. She knew the abilities of his puppets, although he had added new features to them. But his grandmother was smart enough to take that into account as well. He could have easily attacked while they were off guard, but perhaps if he let them plan their attack they would give him a halfway decent fight. He waited patiently for them to finish.

All of a sudden, Chiyo hurled two kunai at him, which he easily deflected with his tail. The pink-haired girl ran towards him, and the blonde girl started to make hand signs. The fatass hadn't moved. Sasori smiled. He was eager to see what kind of plan his grandmother had thought up.

Sakura ran towards him. The long tail of Sasori's puppet whipped around toward her, but she wasn't worried about it. Chiyo had taken care of the tail, attaching a thin string to it so that she could control its movements when she had thrown her knives. She felt her body moving separate from her will, dodging each trap that the Sasori's body had in store. But a slit on the kneecap of the puppet opened and fired a barrage of projectiles at Sakura. Suki's lightning destroyed them, proving Sakura with cover. She was within range now. Concentrating all of her charka into her right fist, she swung with all her might. Her blow landed, causing an impact crater, throwing a cloud of dirt into the air.

Sakura could feel the strings pulling her backwards, and she found herself at Chiyo's side once again.

"Nicely done everyone," she commended her younger comrades.

"I didn't do anything…" complained Chouji.

"Believe me," said Chiyo, squinting her eyes to see through the mist of dirt, "there's still quite a lot to be done. You'll see your share of action, boy."

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Takahiro and the others finally caught up to Naruto. He had stopped running and was standing in the middle of a clearing. Across from him stood the Akatsuki member on the far side of the small meadow.

"What did you say your name was? Deidara, right?"

"Correct," he said, "I am the man who will deliver you to our leader."

"You might find that a little hard when you're dead," countered Naruto.

"Mmm…Itachi told me you were a feisty one. That's good. I'll show you my art."

"Itachi will share the same fate as you; as will all of the members of your stupid club!"

"I'm not like Itachi, who toys with his opponents and tortures them before delivering the final blow. A single direct hit from one of my masterpieces will be the end for you."

Deidara reached into his bag and picked out a small clay bird. He pulled back the sleeves of his robe, revealing two mouth-like openings in his hands. He fed them the bird.

"Eww…"

Akiko's reaction basically summed up what everyone else was thinking.

Then, without warning, the small bird came speeding towards them. Naruto and the others jumped to escape the blast radius.

Landing, Naruto glanced at each of them. They nodded, remembering the plan he had laid out. Shikamaru and Akiko backed away while Takahiro and Naruto hurried to close the gap between them and their target.

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As the dust cleared from Sakura's impact with the puppet, Sasori's laughter rang out from the cloud of dust.

"Very clever, old woman. When you threw the kunai at me, you secretly attached one of your strings to my tail so I wouldn't be able to use it. Then you attached strings to that girl and controlled her as she ran towards me. You knew most of my puppet's attacks, and knew exactly when to dodge. You also compensated for my additional traps by using that other girl's lightning attacks to cover yourself. Congratulations, Grandma, you and your little brats managed to destroy my armor."

The dust settled. Sasori was standing in the middle of the small crater. Chiyo gasped. He hadn't aged a day since she last saw him.

"You've proven that your offense is quite formidable," he continued, "but the question is, how will your defense fare against my attacks?"

The once empty cavern was now overcrowded with puppets, each of their strings connecting back to Sasori. Chiyo cut the strings on Sakura and produced her own ten man puppet army. She looked over at Chouji.

"I told you. There's plenty of action to go around."

Chouji was taken aback by the number of puppets Sasori was able to control, but he smiled.

"They're all just bowling balls lined up for me to knock down."

He pulled out a long kunai chain and wrapped it around himself.

"Nikudan Hari Sensha!" (Spiked Human Bullet Tank)

He rolled at a high velocity, taking out a number of puppets.

The puppets swarmed Suki, their joints rattling as they charged her. She stopped them short.

"Raiton! Sutatikku Baindo!" (Lightning Element: Static Bind—see chapter 7)

She managed to bind all of the enemies around her within a few yards. Making another set of hand signs, she unleashed her destructive power.

"Raiu no jutsu!" (Thunderstorm Technique)

Waves of lightning passed through the cave, disabling quite a few of Sasori's puppets. Chiyo pulled Sakura behind her.

"Don't use up your chakra. You'll be more useful re-energizing us than fighting."

Despite their efforts, the onslaught of puppets was too overwhelming for them. Chouji's tank was stopped by a puppet that elongated it's limbs and wrapped around him. He managed to break free and destroy his captor with his Baika no jutsu (doublesize technique), only to be hit with a barrage of needles from another puppet. Thinking fast, he used his Bun Bun Baika no Jutsu(Partial Doublesize Technique) to enlarge his arm and block the senbon with it, but he was forced to retreat back to where the others were standing their ground. Sakura hurried to remove the needles from his arm and heal the puncture wounds. Thanking her, Chouji rolled back into the fray at full velocity.

Suki was having problems of her own. Although her taijutsu was far from substandard, engaging these puppets in close combat with their hidden traps was simply not a good idea. Relying completely on her lightning abilities to both attack and defend herself was quickly draining her of her charka. Soon she wouldn't be able to do either, and she'd be helpless against them.

Chiyo looked at her grandson who was standing calmly behind his massive army of puppets. They had to get to him, or else they would all fall to the sheer numbers of the unstoppable puppet legion.

She called out to her weary companions.

"This won't do. We need to attack Sasori directly. Sakura, I'll try to cover you while you go in for the hit. Fatty, blondie, watch Sakura's back!"

Forming a protective barrier, Chiyo's puppets, Suki, and Chouji surrounded Sakura. A group of puppets came in from the right. Chouji rolled through them. Another group came from the left. Suki's lightning struck them down. Sasori tried to flank her from behind, but Chiyo's puppet minions rushed to halt them. Sakura was now alone, her escorts occupied elsewhere. She was almost to Sasori, but another group of his puppets was closing in on her.

One of them reached out for her. She grabbed it before it got to her and threw it aside, knocking over the other puppets. Her path to the man pulling all the strings was clear. Running towards him, she cocked her fist back, ready to unload on him with everything she had. She hesitated when she saw the man grin. A spear-like blade shot out from his midsection and impaled Sakura through the chest. This time, it was his turn to worry when a grin formed on Sakura's lips.

The girl that he had stabbed was no longer there. Instead, one of his own puppets lay there, his sharp-tipped blade piercing its upper body.

"_Interesting. Replacement"_

He didn't have the time to think anything else. Sakura's fist slammed into the back of his head. He was sent tumbling across the enclosed area, finally coming to a stop when he hit the solid granite wall. He struggled back to his feet, his cockiness a little diminished. The spear he had shot winded back into his body.

"You fool!" Chiyo yelled, "you've made yourself into a puppet. That's why you look exactly the same!"

He ignored her.

"I see. The four of you were indeed the smartest choices to fight me. That jinchuuriki leader of yours isn't as dumb as he looks. But now you've gone and made me angry. I'll introduce you to my greatest creation. No one has ever met him and lived. You will all die here."

Chiyo wasn't surprised when he revealed his ultimate weapon. It was a puppet made from the body of the third Kazekage.

"I always figured you were the one behind his disappearance. You have fallen far, grandson, too far for me to reach you. You are responsible for the death of two of Suna's head ninja, and now you will face the consequences."

Ignoring his elder relative yet again, Sasori readied his weapon.

"Human puppets," he explained to Suki, Sakura, and Chouji, "are much more deadly than those made from wood and metal. You see, a human puppet can utilize the same abilities as the person that was used to make it. The third Kage of Sunagakure was the strongest of them all."

Chiyo knew everything about his human puppets. His research with them is what got him kicked out of the village, since he had been killing jonin just to turn them into his tools. But Chiyo had a surprise of her own. She had brought with her the very first human puppets that he had ever made: his parents. He created them long ago, after they died. All he wanted was to be together with his parents again, but with that single intention, his downward spiral into darkness began.

Seeing his parents, Sasori laughed.

"Do you think that fighting my parents will throw me off? You are old, senile, and foolish, grandmother. You remember my puppet's talents, do you not? It's as if you're fighting the first Kazekage himself! His Iron Sand was impressive, but mixed in with my poison, I have created the ultimate tool of destruction!"

"Iron Sand?" the three younger ninja looked to Chiyo for an explanation.

"Yes. The Iron Sand. The third could turn the charka he molded into magnetic forces. He used it to control sand, similar to Gaara-sama's manipulation of the sand. The Shukaku allows it's host to control the sand, and that's what the third based his technique on. He can shape it into whatever he wants"

The sand, tainted with Sasori's poison, floated around the puppet. The individual grains came together to form an immense wall of sand. He was going to shape it into something, and Suki didn't want to find out what. She knew what she had to do, but if she didn't have enough power left to do it…

She focused her charka. She formed her seals as fast as she could. Ox. Dragon. Serpent. Boar. Ox. Rat. Tiger. Boar. Horse.

"Raiton! Jinteki sa-kitto!" (Lightning Element: Human Circuit)

Her charka exploded forth, transmuting every last drop of her remaining spirit force into a powerful electrical stream. She directed all of it at the sand. The attack resulted in a flash of bright light, forcing momentary blindness for everyone present. When the light faded, they saw that Suki had collapsed, but her efforts ended in success. The floating sand had turned into a thick sheet of glass.

Chiyo was quite astonished., amazed at the pretty young girl on the ground. She was still conscious, yet unable to move.

"_These youngsters are full of surprises," _Chiyo thought, looking over each of them separately, "_in order to turn that amount of sand into glass, she'd need an enormous reserve of heat and energy."_

Sasori, for the first time in the fight, found himself gritting his teeth, obviously frustrated. His puppet had other abilities, yes, but without the Iron Sand he was no more useful to him than one of his ordinary creations.

"Damn you, you clever girl…I'll make you pay for that."

Blades sliced their way through his black robes, revealing his entire puppet body.

Chouji was the first to react.

"I don't think so, you circus freak!"

With one huge hand, he grabbed Sasori and squeezed, crushing his limbs. His hand was bleeding when it returned to normal size, but it was nothing Sakura couldn't handle.

But the crippled pile of parts began to repair itself. The chest portion floated in midair and the other parts seemed to be attracted to it. The legs reattached themselves and the arms were popped back into place. Sasori gave them a smile that would wither a flower, and stood before them whole once again.

"I'm invincible!" he laughed. "I'm a puppet! I can't die!"

Chiyo shook her head.

"There is still a part of you that is human."

And to her comrades she said, "If we destroy his heart, he'll die. It's probably well protected with reinforced armor."

"Sorry I can't help…" said Suki, her cheek on the stone cold floor.

"You've done more than enough, child," said Chiyo, "leave the rest to us."

Sakura prepared for the final attack.

"Chiyo-sama, make your puppets go to the right. Chouji, left. I'll go down the middle.

They all rushed him, and Sasori went into action. He easily leaped over Chouji's meat tank. With the blades on his arms, he slashed through his parents, and a simple series of taijutsu attacks was enough to take down Sakura. He ran at Suki, eager to have his revenge on the girl that had ruined his Iron Sand. His forearm blade came down on her upper back.

But the blade went straight through, hitting stone. The girl vanished. It was a clone. Behind him he heard the voice of the girl he thought he had stabbed.

"Raiton! Denkou Dangan!"

The attack struck him before he could move, shooting through his outer armor, piercing the steel ribcage, and boring the tiniest hole in his heart. Sasori fell to the ground.

"Well done. I never thought that the four of you would be able to bring me down."

Chiyo stood over him.

"And now, my dear grandson, you die."

"Your leader…the kyuubi…he seeks Orochimaru, does he not?"

Suki, barely able to stand even with Chouji and Sakura's help, called out in a weak voice.

"Yes. We'll stop at nothing to get our hands on him."

"We Akatsuki also want to see him dead. Since you defeated me, you should be able to take him down as well. I have a spy deep undercover in Orochimaru's circle. Five days from now, I'm supposed to be meeting him near an old bridge just outside of the fire country. You may find a lead there."

At that moment, the same way it happened to the rock, Sasori's heart gave in. He was dead.

"Is everyone okay?" Sakura asked. She tended to her party's wounds.

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Naruto and Takahiro breathed heavily. Behind them stood Shikamaru and Akiko. They weren't gaining much ground. Each time Naruto and Takahiro got close enough to do some damage, Deidara flew away on his bird to create more distance for his explosions. Naruto's shadow clones were useless; one explosion could wipe out an entire wave of them.

"We need to stop him from getting too far away somehow," Shikamaru suggested.

Naruto nodded. "He feeds those damned clay sculptures to the mouths on his hands. If we can close those mouths, we won't have to worry about his attacks."

He glanced at the faces of his friends. They were in his hands.

"We can't play it safe anymore, Maki-san," said Akiko, "I know you don't want anything to happen to us, but if we don't start taking risks we won't last much longer against this guy."

"She's right, Naruto, it could be troublesome, but we need to rethink our strategy."

Naruto sighed. "Okay…here's what we'll do."

Deidara didn't like the fact that they were scheming once again, but the truth was that he needed a rest as well. He only had a limited number of sculptures left. If they knew that he was running low, the jinchuuriki could easily overwhelm him with shadow clones. He had to be prepared for their attack and use his remaining artwork strategically. They sure were taking their time, though. They were all knelt down around the brat. Deidara watched them, trying to think of any plan that they might use against him. His train of thought was disturbed when he felt two hands grab him from underneath. The female ran at him, metal surrounding her hand like a huge glove.

"_But… how!?"_

The group he had seen resting and talking was now running towards him, all of them exact replicas of Naruto.

The short brunette girl lunged at him.

"Matarikku Genkotsu!" (Metallic Fist)

The impact of the punch was enough to send him flying, but the hands held on tight. Akiko's metal glove took the form of a sword, and she went in for another attack.

"Akuma Yaiba Gekijou !" (Demon Fury Blade)

But before she could start the sword technique, Deidara sent three small birds at her. The sword dissolved and turned into three metal spheres, which captured each of the sculptures. It was enough to contain the explosion. Although Akiko was still blown back by the force of the blast, she landed on her feet and took no damage.

The ground beneath Deidara began to quake. A chain of Narutos, holding on tightly to each other's ankles, sprouted from the ground. They whipped the unsuspecting Deira in the air and threw him back down to earth.

But what lay on the ground was not Deidara, but a clay dummy. He had used a replacement. Hidden in the trees, the Akatsuki watched as the clones disappeared and Naruto frowned in frustration. This would give him some time to recover from that blow that the cursed girl had landed on him. He was a bit shocked when he got to his feet and walked right out into the open. He was being controlled.

"Kage Mane…success."

"Nice job, Shikamaru!" Naruto called

"It was nothing. Now how should I finish him off? Make him destroy himself with his own explosives?"

Takahiro made his opinion be heard.

"Kitsune should be the one to take him down. How about it? An old fashioned Rasengan to the gut will be a fitting end for this trash."

"I agree," said Akiko to Naruto, "you should do it."

They were all horrified to hear a fourth opinion.

"How about none of the above, you overconfident brats!"

The thing bound by Shikamaru's shadow melted away like wax on a candle. It was a clay clone. This wasn't good.

Deidara reappeared and threw his finest pieces of artwork at them.

"Shit!" cried Naruto, "everyone watch out!"

Akiko braced herself, coating her body with armor. There wasn't time for her to contain them again. Naruto made shadow clones that knocked Takahiro, Akiko, and Shikamaru to the ground and covered his three friends like a clone shield in an attempt to do anything that would lessen the damage that they would take from the blast. But he didn't have time to properly defend himself. His three teammates yelled out to him.

"Naruto, get down!"

"Maki-san! Look out!"

"Kitsune! Move!"

"Die now, jinchuuriki!" Deidara howled with laughter.

Takahiro, from the bottom of a shadow clone dog pile, watched the sculptures zoom closer and closer to Naruto. What was that idiot thinking? He out-muscled the weight off of him and ran to step in front of the younger man. Naruto's eyes went wide when he saw Takahiro appear in front of him.

"Hiro…"

The next few moments were a blank. There was a deafening boom and a flash of light. Naruto could feel his body somersaulting through the air. He landed and opened his eyes to see Takahiro's body land next to him. His whole body was charred and bleeding. He yelled out in pain.

Naruto, ignoring the gashes on his back and leg, knelt down and held Takahiro in his arms.

"Hiro…"

Takahiro tried his best to speak through the scorching pain that he felt all over. "Kitsune. I couldn't let you just throw your life away like that. You still have much to do."

"Hiro…if you just stayed there…you'd be fine. I was going to protect you…"

"You always protect everyone. I just figured it was time that someone protected you."

"But…"

Takahiro grunted and moaned. Every inch of him was burning.

"After my clan was taken out by Orochimaru and his thugs, I was in a dark place. I thought I had nothing to live for except revenge. I was alone. But then I met you…"

He could feel Naruto's tears falling on his arm.

"Reach into my pocket, Kitsune."

Naruto did so, and he took out a pendant. It was a symbol Naruto had never seen before, and it was carved from marble.

"That necklace…it's a custom in my clan for an older brother to give that to his younger brother when he comes of age…18. It is the symbol of my clan, and receiving the pendant is a significant event which recognizes the recipient as a proud member of the family. On that day…I never thought I would be able to give this to anyone…you're not 18 yet, and I was going to wait, but…"

"Then wait till then!" Naruto cried. "You'll be fine! Just hold on until I get you to Sakura-chan!"

"It's yours now, the only thing left of my clan. Please wear it and honor us."

"Did you hear what I said? Sakura-chan is the best medical nin I've ever seen! She'll have you back on your feet in no time!"

"Naruto…you are my brother. It was an honor and a pleasure to have known you. I only regret that I won't be able to help you anymore…"

He went limp in Naruto's hand. Parts of his skin had turned to ash and took off with the wind. The reflection of his deformed face was fixed on Naruto's eyes.

The other two were just regaining their senses. Seeing what had happened, Akiko covered her mouth her hand. She started to cry too. Shikamaru bowed his head down low.

Deidara chuckled.

"Now, which of you is next?"

Naruto stood up.

"You. You're next, you fucking bastard!"

Akiko, Shikamaru, and Deidara watched in amazement and in horror as an aura of red charka surrounded him. The whisker marks on his cheeks became more defined, and features grew to resemble more of a beast than a human. Akiko started to go to him, calling his name. Shikamaru stopped her, remembering the promise he had made to Naruto. He was standing on all fours now, two tails visible and another one forming.

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Sakura and the others were on their way towards Naruto. It wasn't hard to tell where they had gone, all they had to do was follow the destruction. Suddenly a pillar of red light shot into the air from nearby, causing the clouds to glow with a red tint. The eerily beautiful sight gave Sakura the chills.

They ran toward where the light had come from. The gruesome sight came into view. Shikamaru was trying to hold Akiko back, and the Akatsuki person was just standing there. They were all staring at the same thing. Sakura saw the body of Takahiro. She knew that there was nothing she could do. He was already dead. But then she saw him. The blonde hair was unmistakable. He was surrounded by an aura of red. The tingle she was feeling was from his foul demon charka. He was a jinchuuriki… she never knew…was this his power?

"Naruto…"

He turned at the sound of her voice. The eyes that stared back at Sakura weren't the gentle, carefree eyes that she remembered. Instead, they were a deep red. She saw his eyes burning. With rage, with anger, with malice, but most of all, with pain.


	13. No Rest for the Weary

I just noticed something. Why do I write the techniques in Japanese? I have no clue. But I've read quite a few Naruto fanfics on this site, and that's how they all do it, so I guess I kind of just followed their lead. Anyway, just thought I'd point that out.

Here's the latest chapter. It's not the most exciting thing I've ever written, but it was all necessary to set up the next few chapters.

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Sakura could feel the intensity of the charka building. The tingle on her skin was starting to burn. This was Naruto. She simply couldn't believe it.

Suki could also feel the charka. It was giving her goosebumps. Like Sakura, she could see the pain in Naruto's eyes. She remained completely motionless, her emotions too severe for her to think straight. Takahiro was dead. Naruto was going completely berserk. It was like she was frozen in place.

Chiyo and Chouji, who was carrying Gaara, didn't know what to say or think. The two of them watched, not knowing what to do.

All of them stood silently, hypnotized by what was happening in front of them.

The enraged kyuubi form of Naruto had grown its third tail. He vanished, but appeared again in front of Deidara in less than a split second. Deidara had no chance to react. The brute force of Naruto's fists broke his ribs, shoulder, and jaw. He tried to fly away, but Naruto's red charka formed a hand and grabbed the fleeing villain from afar. It pulled Deidara in and Naruto landed another succession of punches.

Deidara knew he was done. But there was one more thing that he had up his sleeve.

"If I die, kyuubi, you're coming with me!"

His body expanded. He looked like a balloon that was over-inflated and ready to pop. Naruto's huge charka hands enveloped him, and Deidara's suicide bomb went off harmlessly in the protective shell.

The boy roared in triumph. Another tail formed, and Naruto's physical appearance completely deteriorated. What stood before Rakugosha now did not resemble their leader in any way.

Shikamaru urged them to back away.

"His thirst for devastation can't be quenched. We need to get out of here."

"And leave him like this?! I refuse!" Suki walked slowly toward Naruto's mutated body.

"I promised him that I would take all of you and run if this happened," Shikamaru argued, "and I think it's a good idea."

"No, it's not" Akiko broke free of Shikamaru's grasp. "We can't leave him. Who knows where he'll go or what he'll do."

She and Suki inched cautiously towards him, calling his name.

"Maki-san…let us help you…." Akiko called softly.

Shikamaru stopped them with his shadow.

"We're getting out of here. Now!"

The two girls both shouted at him, their voices drowning each other out. Sakura spoke over both of them.

"Shikamaru, let them go."

"But Sakura-"

"Can't you see he needs our help? Please…"

He released his jutsu on Suki and Akiko.

They all formed a circle around Naruto and began to close in on him. There were now five tails visible. His skin was boiling. They could all feel the charka the cursed demon was emitting. It was painful to breathe.

Sakura stood in front of him.

"Naruto…I'm here now. We're all right here."

Akiko approached him from the side.

"Maki-san please stop….Deidara is dead…you saved us all."

Suki was on his left.

"Naruto…Takahiro…he wouldn't have wanted this…"

The three of them continued to call to him, tears running down their cheeks in concern. A powerful discharge of the kyuubi's charka was sent out in every direction, knocking everyone to the ground. The beady eyes of the fox surveyed the damage it had caused. They rested on Sakura. Deep inside of Naruto's soul, he was awakened.

"Sakura-chan…I won't let you hurt her, or any of them, you damn fox!"

A dark laughter shattered his mind.

**Don't blame me, you foolish child. You embraced my power. You called it forth.**

"I…I didn't want this…"

**You didn't want my power? You didn't want to kill that man?**

"…"

**That's right. You crave my charka, don't you? You need its power.**

"That's not true. I don't need you anymore…go away!"

The kyuubi laughed again.

**I can't, you dumbass! I'm always here, and I always will be.**

"Fine. Just go back into your cage where you belong! I won't let you hurt my friends!"

**They aren't your real friends, boy. I am your only friend. I can never leave your side. I give you power whenever you want it.**

"You can have your power. I don't need it!!"

With all of the strength and willpower he could muster, Naruto pushed the cursed charka back behind it's bars. He fainted and his mind went blank.

Sakura, getting back to her feet, hurried over to her teammate that she hadn't seen in 3 years. The red glow had receded, leaving his skin blackened. She began to heal him right away. The others crowded around, looking on as she began to revive him. She ripped open his shirt and placed her hands on his chest. His breaths were shallow. His heartbeat was erratic. The necklace Tsunade had given him rested around his neck. Naruto groaned, jerking his head to the side.

"Naruto," she cried out loud, "hang in there…"

She was giving it everything she had, but she was still weak from the battle with Sasori.

"I finally got to see you again…there's no way I'm going to lose you!"

The green light from her hands faded.

"What's wrong?" demanded Suki, "why did you stop?"

"I'm out of charka. I managed to restablize his heart rate and breathing, but we need to get him back to Sunagakure as fast as possible."

Chouji picked Naruto up and piled him on with Gaara. He ran off in the direction of the village.

Sakura, with the support of Chiyo and Shikamaru, did the same.

Akiko and Suki removed their cloaks. Suki used hers to cover Takahiro. Akiko formed two metal rods and tied her cloak to them, creating a makeshift stretcher. After placing their deceased friend on top of it, they too made haste for the Sand Village.

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"I'll raise you $50,000 more" announced Kakashi, pushing his chips to the center of the table.

"Is that so?" said Jiraiya, staring at the cards in his hand. "I'm out." He threw his cards on the table.

Tsunade shook her head. "You're too gutless, Jiraiya. I'm putting in 50 as well. "

"I know better than to bet against Kakashi. I fold too." Iruka threw away his cards and took another sip of sake.

Shizune was at the table, but she wasn't much of a card player.

"Well, Tsunade-sama, let's see what you got…" the grey haired jonin stared at the Hokage with his one visible eye.

"Three kings. And you, Kakashi?"

"You have three kings? Does a royal flush beat that?" he asked tauntingly.

Tsunade scowled. "Just take the pot…" She poured herself another shot.

Jiraiya shuffled the deck and dealt out another round.

"Maybe we should have sent another team to go with them. One with a jonin, at least," commented the old man.

"He and his little band of ninja are already at jonin level. And I've been considering promoting Shikamaru to jonin as well. I'm worried about him too, Jiraiya, but I couldn't just send anyone I wanted out on a mission with him to ensure his safety. If I could, I would've sent Kakashi, Gai, and a handful of other elite jonin to watch his back, but I need them here."

"You don't need to worry about that little squirt," said Iruka, "We've all trained him the very best we could. Believe in his abilities."

"And I doubt that Suna would let them run into battle without support of some kind. He is probably on his way back now with a pair of Akatsuki heads." Shizune reassured them, but she was worried as well.

"A toast, then," said Kakashi, raising his glass, "to Naruto, his friends, and their safe return."

Their glasses met with a clink. All cups went bottoms up, and they all slammed back down to the table at the same time.

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Temari and Kankuro were on high up on the watch tower, looking for any sign of Naruto and Gaara. They had been waiting there for quite a while.

"Why don't we go down, Kankuro," his older sister said, "we've been up here all day…"

"Let's stay just a little bit longer, okay?"

Temari tried to stay cheerful. "With that little runt on the job, Gaara should be just fine."

Kankuro leaned over the ledge, squinting. He used his hands to shade his eyes.

"Temari…is that them?"

She looked to the horizon. There was someone coming. Jumping onto her fan, she flew out to see who it was.

"Temari, be careful! They could be enemies!"

The wind was strong against her face and it ruffled her clothes and hair behind her. She could make out their faces clearly now. She saw Chiyo, Sakura, and Shikamaru.

Turning back, she signaled Kankuro to open the gate.

"It's the Kazekage!" he yelled to the guards, "open the gate! Open the gate!"

The huge wooden doors creaked open. Rakugosha made it safely inside the allied walls. Kankuro jumped down to greet them.

"Where is he? Is he okay?"

Chiyo pushed past him. "There's no time, young one, we need to get to the hospital right away."

A crowd of concerned villagers and ninja formed and followed the group all the way to the medical center where the doctors had to beat them back.

"We're sorry, but you will all have to wait outside," one of the medical ninja shouted to the mob.

Once inside, they took Naruto from Chouji and wheeled him to the intensive care unit. They were about to take Gaara, but Chiyo shook her head.

"I'll take care of our young Kazekage. You guys heal that kid."

Shikamaru and the rest of them tried to follow Naruto into the room, but they too were denied access.

"Sorry you guys, but only medical ninja are allowed in here."

The door shut. They all got one last look at the unconscious Naruto, but then he was gone.

Temari and Kankuro arrived at the hospital and found them.

"What happened? And where's Gaara?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath and began to tell the story of what had come to pass out in the desert.

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Chiyo took Gaara into an empty room. Struggling with his limp weight, she laid him out on the bed. Standing above him, she started the procedure that would bring him back to life. It was a technique she had intended to use on her grandson. It was designed to bring puppets to life, but now she used it on her Kazekage.

She talked to him as she worked.

"This world, the world that the generations of old have created…it needs change."

She paused as if expecting the boy to reply.

"The shinobi of old were selfish and blinded by their pride. Gaara-sama…my time has passed. I leave the future in the hands of kids like you and that kid. Lead your people into a time of peace and happiness."

Her jutsu complete, she passed silently into the world beyond. A small smile was left on her face knowing that the world torn by war that she created would soon cease to exist.

Gaara's hands twitched. His eyes fluttered.

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Temari and Kankuro couldn't bear to hear the bad news. Both were sitting on the floor crying, their legs having given out when Shikamaru told them Gaara was dead. But they were in for a big surprise.

"I never thought I would see my big brother crying like this."

Gaara had emerged from the room. His two siblings, at a loss for words, ran to hug him. They almost tackled him.

"Gaara…" Temari was overcome with relief.

Chouji spoke for the speechless Rakugosha members.

"But…how? We all saw you in the cave…"

Gaara grunted as Temari squeezed him.

"Chiyo. She used her jutsu to bring me back to life. At least that's what I'm guessing since I woke up next to her and she was dead."

They all took a moment to honor the old woman's sacrifice. Kankuro backed off of him, embarrassed that his brother had caught him crying.

"I wasn't crying. You can't prove anything."

Gaara smiled. "Whatever you say…Temari, get off, I can't breathe!"

She lingered a few more seconds before she let go.

"So it was our Leaf allies that came to our aid," Gaara said, "I thank you."

"Don't thank us," said Shikamaru. "We were under the command of Naruto Uzumaki and his band of Rakugosha. They lost one of their own out there."

Gaara was surprised to hear that name again. "Naruto? But I thought he went missing after the mission to bring Sasuke to Konoha. I was there, along with Temari and Kankuro."

"He did, but naturally we tracked him down. He agreed to help Konoha rescue you."

Gaara smiled. It was the first time Shikamaru had seen him smile. The psychopath, serial-killer smile he had seen during the chuunin exams didn't count.

"Uzumaki Naruto…where is he?"

"He's behind these doors," Shikamaru said, "he's in pretty bad shape."

The three sand siblings fell victim to the solemn mood.

Takahiro had been taken down to the morgue. Akiko and Shikamaru went to get treated for the injuries they had sustained in the fight. Suki came and sat by her, hugging her tightly.

"Kiko…Takahiro is…and Naruto…"

"It's going to be okay, Suki." They tried their best to comfort each other.

Chouji and Shikamaru tried their best too.

"I'm really sorry about Takahiro…"

That was the only thing they knew to say. Now they could only wait. They waited through the night. They waited as the sun rose, bringing about a new day. Only Sakura was asleep. She was completely tired out.

Finally, the doctor poked his head out the door.

"Your friend Naruto will be fine. He's in stable condition, and he's just sleeping now. We're going to move him to a normal room to get some rest. You guys can see him once he's settled in."

They wheeled him out of the room. He looked perfectly fine.

The two remaining members of Rakugosha followed closely behind, and Shikamaru tagged along as well. They stayed in his room and tried to keep awake, but their bodies were just too weary…

After a good rest, Naruto opened his eyes. The room was well lit. His memory was foggy, but he did remember seeing Sakura being knocked to the ground. Sitting up, he surveyed the room. Suki was sitting at the foot of his bed, her head resting near his feet. Akiko was sleeping on a nearby couch. Trying to recollect his memory, he walked out.

Shikamaru looked up when he heard someone exit.

"Naruto! You're awake!"

"Yeah…"

His eyes found Gaara.

"Gaara? You…are…alive? My memory must be worse than I thought!"

"It's true that I was dead, but now I'm alive again," he said, confusing Naruto.

"I'll tell you about it later, Naruto, but first, how do you feel?" Shikamaru inquired.

He remembered seeing Takahiro. Naruto reached into his pocket. The necklace was there.

"Takahiro…"

Gaara's hand gripped his shoulder. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Naruto. He was a close friend of yours, right?"

"Yeah…yeah he was."

Naruto put on Takahiro's pendant over the first Hokage's necklace.

"_Hiro…I'll wear it proudly. The legacy of the Miyushi clan will live on…" _

"Is everyone alright?" he asked Shikamaru after his silent tribute to his good friend.

"Yeah. They're all sleeping. Sakura really had it bad."

Naruto's stomach growled. He laughed lightly.

"Uhh…I'm a little hungry. You guys got any good food around here, Gaara?"

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Akiko woke up. Naruto wasn't there anymore. She leaped off of the couch.

"Suki, wake up!" She shook her awake.

"What? What is it?" Suki asked, annoyed and still half asleep.

But once she saw that Naruto was no longer there, she jumped up on her feet. Both girls rushed out the door. Naruto was eating a plate lunch contently.

"Hey you two. You're probably as hungry as I am! Come on, there's enough food for everyone!"

Suki couldn't hide her relief, nor her joyful smile. For the past few hours, her heart had been on hold. She felt like she could hug him forever. They all enjoyed the wholesome goodness of Suna's best plate lunch together.

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"I'm sorry, everyone."

Naruto apologized to the group he had been in charge of. He had just heard from them what had happened after Takahiro died, and also how the fight had gone with Sasori. They were all gathered at the exception of Sakura, who was still soundly asleep.

"I put you all in danger. I…I…"

The only two remaining members of his original group, Suki and Akiko, sympathized with him. He had told them that the villagers of Konoha had always hated him because of what he was. He was afraid that they too would leave him after seeing the ferocity and power of the kyuubi.

Suki's hand caressed his cheek.

"That fox can't scare me away, Baka-kun."

Akiko came to his side as well.

"That's right. You can't get rid of us that easily. We're sticking with you."

They had no idea how much those words meant to Naruto.

"You said Sasori gave you some information?" he asked.

"Yeah. He said that he had a spy close to Orochimaru and that he was meeting him at the old bridge near the border of the fire country," Suki answered.

"When?"

"Five days."

"What!" Naruto shouted, "that was yesterday, so we only have four days. That's how long it takes to get back to the fire country!"

He started gathering his things.

"We have to start going now!"

The girls started to scramble as well.

"But Naruto, you just got out of the hospital!" protested Chouji.

"I'm fine."

"But you need to go back to the village and give a report to the Hokage!" said Shikamaru.

"You can do it, can't you? The old lady will understand."

"What about Takahiro, Maki-san?" It wasn't a protest, just a question.

"I hate to do it too, but we don't have time to say proper goodbyes. I promise, once we have the time, we'll come back and pay our respects. I'm sure Gaara will make sure he is given a proper funeral."

Shikamaru and Chouji understood.

"I know, Naruto," said Chouji, "you go do what needs to be done. It was good to see you again."

Shikamaru leaned in for a whisper. "You should go wake up Sakura. You've already left without saying goodbye to her once. She'll kill you if you do it again." Then, leaning away from him, he said, "Watch your back out there, Naruto. If I let you run off and get yourself killed, I'd never hear the end of it from Tsunade-sama…"

Naruto smiled and turned to them before leaving the room.

"Get used to me giving you orders," he said, "I'm going to be Hokage, after all."

He left. It was Suki and Akiko's turn to bid them farewell.

"It was great meeting you, and thanks for all the help! I know we'll meet again soon!"

They followed Naruto. He headed to where Sakura was sleeping. The girls waited outside, giving him privacy.

He stood at Sakura's bedside.

"_What should I say?"_ he thought.

"_It's great to see you, Sakura-chan. I have to go now."_

No, that didn't sound right at all.

"_How are you feeling, Sakura-chan? I'm feeling better, so I'm going to leave…"_

No, that wasn't good either. He sighed, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he said softly, "I never wanted you to see me like that."

He reached into his bag and pulled out the picture that was on the very bottom. He unfolded it and set it in her hand.

"Later."

He left the room, and Rakugosha left the Village Hidden in the Sand.

Back at the hospital, Gaara approached Shikamaru after returning from a meeting.

"Where'd Naruto run off to?" he asked.

"To keep a promise," was the reply.

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"Are preparations complete, Kabuto?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"Excellent."

"Excuse me if I am out of place, but are you sure Sasuke-sama should come with us? His help is not required to kill Sasori."

"I have my reasons, Kabuto, I do not need to explain myself to you."

"Of course not, Orochimaru-sama."

"Let us make haste. One thing I learned about Sasroi when I was in Akatsuki is that he is never late, not even for his own death."

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In her hospital room in Sunagakure, Sakura Haruno's light gree eyes flashed open. Her body rejuvenated, she sat up and was about to stretch her arms when she felt something wedged between her fingers. She unfolded it. It was the old picture of team 7. Kakashi. Herself. Sasuke. Naruto.

When Shikamaru and Chouji went to check up on her, they found her staring out the window, a single tear rolling down from her eyes.

"He's gone, isn't he?" she said, staring out.

"Yeah. He went to go follow the lead we got from Sasori."

She wiped her cheek dry. "He's restless, that one. He can never stay sitting around for long."

"We can't afford to stay any longer either. We gotta get back to Konoha and give our report to Tsunade-sama." Shikamaru knew that Tsunade would yell at him for letting Naruto go.

"Did you know about him?" she asked.

"You mean that it was him leading our mission or that he has the kyuubi inside of him?"

"Both. Did you know?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell, Sakura."

"If it makes you feel any better," Chouji said, "I had no clue whatsoever. Absolutely none."

"But…why didn't he tell me?"

"You've got to understand, Sakura," said Shikamaru, sitting on the bed, "you were, you are, someone precious to him. He was afraid that if you knew he had a demon inside of him, you would think that he was a demon himself. He's been hated for it all his life."

"It was him this whole time. Didn't he at least want to talk to me?"

Shikamaru shook his head. It would be too troublesome to spell it out for her. Despite being incredibly smart, this girl sure was dumb.

"You can ask him the next time you see him. Now come on, let's get moving. His last order was to return to Konoha as soon as you were ready."

Sakura moved away from the window. That boy was still as hardheaded and determined as ever. She folded the picture back up, but not before glancing at it one more time. Naruto. She knew in her heart that she would see him again.


	14. The Setting Sun

Here is the next chapter. I just noticed, I've written 14 chapters in a little over a month. I know it's pretty fast, but I've been uncharacteristically motivated to write this fic for some unknown reason. Alright, well I try to keep all the chapters as good as the previous one, so hopefully I did so with this one.

And thanks to Dragon Noir for giving me a couple ideas for the story when I wasn't exactly sure which direction I was going to take it.

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Naruto stared out as the sun set over the fire country. He was lost in his thoughts, replaying certain events of his past in his mind, remembering the two oldest members of his group.

(flashback)

"Now, there are five types of charka elements," explained Baine, "fire, lightning, wind, water, earth. Here, Naruto, since you're the only one here who doesn't know his attribute, take this paper and focus your charka into it."

Naruto did as he was told, and the paper ripped in half.

"You see?" Baine continued, "that means you have an affinity for wind. It's a good thing too, since I can teach you a few wind techniques."

His younger but larger brother Sato began explaining further.

"When wielding charka, there is nature manipulation and shape manipulation. When we saw that Rasengan of yours, Naruto, Baine and I got really excited. We noticed that it takes shape manipulation to the highest level, and it's very destructive. If you could add your wind charka into it, it could become even stronger"

Reading Naruto's dumbfounded expression, the two brothers tried to explain it a little more clearly.

"When you use the Rasengan, you are compressing your charka and rotating it, giving it its spiral shape. But that technique is just a jab that hits your target with the force of your regular charka. If you could mix your affinity for wind into it, the Rasengan would be even more powerful."

"I think I follow you…sort of…" said Naruto.

"It will be a lot of work," said Sato, "because the high level of shape manipulation that you use will require an equal level of nature manipulation, which you have no experience with"

"But for now," Baine cut in, "starting off with basic wind element control and techniques is the best thing. You can't run before you can walk."

"Why didn't any of my old senseis teach me this?" Naruto wondered.

"You were still a genin when you left, right? You learn this stuff when you get promoted to chuunin. At least, that's the way we were told to do it in the Grass Village."

(new flashback)

Baine was simply amazed by Naruto's progress.

"I can't believe how fast you're picking this up, Naruto. This shadow clone training method works wonders! How did you ever come up with such an idea?"

"I told you about when I almost killed that old guy, right? I was only able to catch him because my shadow clone knew where he was. After the clone was destroyed, everything it knew was transferred back to me. Ever since then, I've been using them to scout, train, and do all sorts of things."

"My brother and I could tell right when we first saw you, Naruto, you have amazing potential. You have a huge reserve of charka and stamina and you've already gone through charka control training, so you can use many combinations of jutsu without getting tired out."

(end flashback)

The sun sank lower, disappearing beyond the horizon. As the sky darkened into night, so did Naruto's mood darken into sorrow and regret. He would never forget that day.

(flashback)

The stinging rain washed the blood from Naruto's wounds. Akiko, Suki, and Takahiro were behind him, almost as beat up as he was. The four of them had just finished their fight with a dozen Sound ninja when the two Akatsuki known as Hidan and Kakuzu came and attacked them from out of nowhere.

Hidan stood over Naruto and raised his scythe-like blade.

"What's wrong, kyuubi? All tired out from the fight you just had?"

Kakuzu took a hold of the weapon. "Are you that stupid? We can't kill him. But his friends, on the other hand, are fair game."

Hidan moved to Akiko. His scythe plunged downward towards her with enough force to cleave her in half. But at the last moment, a shuriken deflected the blow. Baine and Sato came running out of the trees. Naruto had sent them to patrol the perimeter to make sure none of the sound ninja that they had tracked down would get away.

"Sorry, Naruto, they got past us," Baine apologized.

"You four head on out of here, we'll hold off these guys for a while," said the other brother.

Naruto didn't want to leave them alone.

"Go, Naruto. Right now you four will just be in the way. We'll be right behind you!"

"You guys go," Naruto told Suki, Akiko, and Takahiro, "I'm staying here to help."

"Kitsune, we don't have a choice."

Takahiro seized him and dragged him off. Naruto was too tired to even try to struggle free. The last thing he remembered seeing was the two brothers, kunai drawn, standing back to back as Hidan and Kakuzu rushed in to attack. His vision blacked out as he fainted from blood loss. That was the last he ever saw of the two brothers who had become his senseis.

(end flashback)

He heard footsteps on the gravel behind him. It was Suki.

"Can I join you?" she asked.

"Of course."

She sat cross legged next to him.

"Something is troubling you," she pointed out, "what s on your mind?"

"Nothing's troubling me," he lied

"You're sitting out here by yourself, looking at a beautiful sunset with a depressed look on your face. What do you mean nothing is troubling you?"

She gave him time to answer and they sat together, savoring the view.

"I could have saved all of them if I was stronger. They didn't have to die."

"There you go, blaming yourself again, Naruto-baka!" she scolded, "and you wonder why I always call you an idiot!"

"If I was stronger I could have stayed behind and helped them. And I could have ended the fight with Deidara sooner. That way Takahiro wouldn't be dead."

"No matter how much you think you are," Suki told him, "you're not an all powerful super ninja. Deidara was an experienced fighter. He knew how to keep his enemy away and attack from afar. If you didn't come up with a solid plan, all of us might have died out there."

"But if only I had thought of it sooner…"

Suki stared long and hard into his eyes.

"What's done is done. I miss them too, but feeling sorry about ourselves won't bring them back. We have to live on and try to be the best people that we can be, for their sake."

"But-"

Suki pressed her fingers firmly against his lips before he could finish.

"I don't want to hear it. Now, you are going to stop thinking about stupid things like that and sit here and enjoy the sunset with me!" she insisted, wrapping her arm around his forcibly.

His guilt depleted for the moment, he squeezed her hand.

"Right. Sorry."

Akiko watched them in delight. She had come to tell them that they had better be on their way, but she didn't see the harm in leaving them alone for a few more minutes.

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Tsunade watched the chuunin file into her room. There was the lazy, unmotivated one. The chubby, gluttonous one. Her bright young apprentice. She continued to stare at the door expecting to see the idiotic, hyperactive one and his friends. But the door remained stationary. Shikamaru handed his written report to her.

"It's all in here, Hokage-sama," he said, "every last detail. It took forever for me to write. My hand was so tired…sorry"

He stopped himself from rambling when he saw Tsunade's eyebrows twitching impatiently.

The Hokage, and Shizune of course, read the report, their expressions changing as they went through each section. Finally, they finished the last page. Tsunade whispered something to Shizune. The apprentice nodded and left. She took Shikamaru's report with her. If any of the village elders, or even worse, Danzou, read that report, she would be in major trouble.

The Hokage heaved a sigh, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "That kid always rushes in to things without thinking."

She congratulated the chuunin. "This was a high ranked mission to fight S-class outlaws and rescue an allied Kage. Well done, you three."

She could tell that Sakura was being bothered by something.

"You understand, don't you?" she asked Sakura specifically, "why I couldn't tell you?"

The girl nodded sadly. "Yeah, I understand, sensei."

"Then if there's nothing else, you are excused."

They filed out in the same order they had entered. It was quiet in her office, and she turned her chair to overlook the city below. After a few minutes, however, there was a knock at the door. The door was ajar and Shizune peeked her head from the other side.

"He's here, Tsunade-sama. Shall I send him in?"

"Yes."

Shizune stepped into the room quickly and shut the door behind her.

"Are you sure you can trust this guy?" asked Shizune, keeping her voice low.

"Don't worry about it, he's an old friend."

The short-haired girl nodded, opened the door, and motioned for the man to come in. He bowed.

"Hokage-sama, you sent for me?"

"I did. I have a job for you…"

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Zetsu stood over Sasori's remains.

"Perhaps we've miscalculated they ability of our prey," he said.

Itachi emerged out of the shadows.

"I told those two not to be careless around him. They paid the price."

"But is he really that skilled? He's just a kid."

"He may not seem like much, but that kid is the host of the nine tailed bijuu, the most fearsome and powerful of them all. To hold such a demonic and foul power inside of him is nothing short of incredible. The Fourth didn't choose any random infant to seal the kyuubi. He chose Naruto-kun for a reason. It was because the boy's charka and spirit are so strong."

"It almost sounds like you're praising the little brat."

"It's good to know the strength of your foe," Itachi responded, "I wouldn't have made the mistake of underestimating him."

"We may need to refresh our numbers and recruit two more members."

"I doubt the master will do so. We've already extracted all jinchuuriki but two, and the seven-tailed beast shouldn't cause us too much trouble. Once Naruto-kun is the only one left, we can concentrate all of our power to him. Then he won't stand a chance. For now, we'll leave him alone and let him get rid of some of Orochimaru's subordinates."

"What of Sasori and Deidara?" Zetsu asked.

"Leave them here to rot."

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Rakugosha was back on the move.

"Maki-san…"

"I know. I sense them too."

Naruto motioned for Akiko to break off to the right and Suki to go left. He jumped higher into the branches and waited. There were two people following them.

It didn't take long for their pursuers to catch up. Naruto dropped from above, and the two girls moved in from the sides, their weapons at hand and ready for a fight. But after seeing who it was, they relaxed.

"Take it easy!" said Temari, "it's us."

Naruto was glad that their stalkers turned out to be friends rather than enemies, but he was a little surprised to see them.

"You two? What are you doing out here?"

"When Gaara heard that you ran off, he sent us to back you up," said Temari.

"He knew you were running a little short on manpower. We're here just in case you run into any trouble." added her brother.

"That wasn't necessary," said Naruto, "there's probably a lot of things going on in Suna right now that Gaara could use your help with."

"He can handle it for now. Besides, the Sand Village owes you a great debt for saving their Kazekage, and we owe you for saving our brother," said Temari.

"Well thanks, we appreciate all the help we can get. You guys need a rest? You must have been going pretty fast to have caught up with us at this pace."

"We could use a few minutes, yeah," said Temari, taking a seat.

"Alright. Even though we left late, we're a little ahead of schedule. Take all the time you need. We should be at the bridge tomorrow night."

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Ten young shinobi gathered on top of the Hokage Mountain, watching the sun disappear beneath the horizon. All of them had become good friends over the years, and get-togethers such as these had become a daily event. They were the future of Konoha, the best and brightest of the next generation.

"Look at you two, acting all bad ass, coming back from an S-class mission!" Kiba was talking to Chouji and Shikamaru.

Chouji had just got done telling everyone how he had single-handedly taken out Sasori's entire puppet army.

"I'd believe you," said Ino, "if the puppets were made out of barbeque ribs!"

A laugh rippled through the group. Even Shino chuckled slightly, which was a rare occurrence.

"I wish I could've come," whined Ten-ten, "I've never been to the Wind Country."

Neji, Hinata, and Shino never talked much, and today wasn't any different. Sakura had detached herself from the group, spacing herself from them. Lee went to her.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?"

She didn't answer right away.

They heard Kiba's voice as he put his arms around Chouji and Shikamaru.

"I'm jealous though. You guys went with that Rakugosha group right? I saw them walking around when they were here. There was a hot brunette with them, and a cute blonde too!"

Akamaru barked in agreement.

At the mention of the group name, Sakura's expression fell further into dismay.

"We've all gotten to know each other pretty well, haven't we, Lee-san. We were all genin together, and we all took the chunnin exams at the same time"

"Yes, I suppose you are right."

"But…there are two other people who should be here as well…"

Lee wasn't sure what to say.

"I know it's been a long time," said Sakura, "you'd think I'd have gotten over it by now, but… I still miss them as much as I did when I first heard that they went missing."

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun," said Lee finally, "you cannot forget people like them very easily. They were great men, great ninja. Everyone here was inspired by them in some way, and you were closer to them than all of us, Sakura-san."

"I got to tell Sasuke how I felt about him, but I never got a chance to say the things I wanted to say to Naruto. He was always there when I needed him, but I never really treated him like a true friend. That's all he ever wanted from me, but usually I just ignored him. I even avoided him when we first met. I wanted to tell him that-"

Rock Lee stopped her.

"Do not waste your words on me, Sakura-san. I know that you will see him again. Save your heartfelt emotions for that moment."

"Thanks, Lee."

"Shall we join the others?" he suggested.

"Sure."

They made their way back into the conversation and laughter as the faded sunlight gave way to millions of sparkling stars.

In three different places in the world, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all stopped what they were doing to look upon the same full, radiant moon. There was something about the gloomy, mysterious paleness that attracted them to its beauty.


	15. Long Awaited Rematch

Okay, so when I sat down to write this I didn't have a clue as to what was going to happen, so I prettty much just winged it. Something kind of crazy happens, and I hope it's a twist that most people will like instead of dislike. Well, i guess all there is left to do is read and decide for yourselves...

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A strong wind rumbled in from the north, howling deeply with an ominous purpose. Yet try as it might, its ferocious attempts to sway the old bridge were in vain. The sturdy frame of the bridge stood strong and unyielding above the small valley. Naruto watched it from afar. Perched on top of a tall tree, he could see his destination in the distance. The person he was about to meet could possibly lead him to Sasuke. He jumped back down to the soft dirt, rejoining his party.

"What took you so long, Naruto?" asked Kankuro, "enjoying the view?"

Naruto ignored his question.

"We've only got a little more to go. Once we get there, no matter what happens, you guys stay hidden until I give you the signal. But I'm sure everything will go smoothly and it won't come to that."

Just before they set off to travel the final leg of their journey, they were all startled to hear someone land loudly on a nearby branch.

"Are you Uzumaki Naruto?" said the mysterious man.

None of them had been able to sense him approach. Whoever this guy was, he was pretty good.

"Who's asking?" insisted Naruto.

"My name is Yamato-taichou, member of ANBU." The man pointed to his Konoha headband. "I was sent by the Godaime Hokage to aid you in your endeavors."

"Reinforcements from the Granny Hokage?"

"That's right, I was ordered by Tsunade-sama to travel around with you for a while."

"So she sent help, huh? Isn't that a little risky?" Naruto asked.

Yamato jumped down and landed next to him.

"I guess she thinks you're worth taking a risk for, kid."

"What is that old lady thinking? If she gets caught withholding information and-"

Akiko shushed him. "She sent help, Maki-san, so let's not complain."

Yamato smiled. "But I'm sure she'd be amused by the fact that you are worried about her, Naruto-kun."

Naruto brushed it off. "Whatever. I guess I'm glad that you're here. Let's just get this over with and see if this guy knows anything about Sasuke. Even though we have an extra member, the game plan doesn't change."

They remained hidden in the trees, a few feet before the untamed grass merged into a gravel road. Before stepping out into the open, Naruto used a transformation jutsu to change his cloak into the Akatsuki uniform. With a nod to his comrades, he stepped out onto the road and stood at the foot of the bridge. He saw a shady figure step out on the far side. The figure walked slowly towards him, and Naruto in turn walked to him. They met halfway, their concealing black clothes blowing in the wind.

"Sasori-sama, good to see you again." The man revealed himself to be none other than Kabuto Yakushi.

"Likewise," said Naruto, masking his voice with a deep tone. It was taking everything he had to not reach out and strangle the traitor where he stood.

"Coming out here is very dangerous for me. I need to get back as soon as I can. Do you have what I need?"

"I do. But first I need information on Orochimaru. Where is his current base of operations?"

"Not far from here, due east. He's been planning another attack on Konoha right under Tsunade's nose."

"And what of Uchiha Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"He is back with Orochimaru. But don't worry, he'll need a little more time to be considered a real threat to Akatsuki and Itachi."

Naruto's heart leapt. Sasuke was nearby.

"If there's nothing else, I'd like to get what I came here for and go back before I raise suspicion."

Kabuto moved closer to him and held out his hand.

Naruto moved closer as well.

"About that thing...-"

Naruto was cut short when Kabuto produced a dagger from his sleeve and lunged at him. He back flipped, avoiding the razor sharp blade.

"Kabuto, what is the meaning of this?"

"Did you think your technique was unbreakable, Sasori? Orochimaru-sama was able to break the control you had on me a long time ago. I am loyal to him and him alone."

"You are a fool, Kabuto," Naruto said, trying to think of what a villain would say, "you have just made Akatsuki your enemy. You will regret it."

Kabuto just smirked. A voice came out from behind him, a voice that made Naruto's hair stand on end. It gave a laugh that chilled his bones.

"You're not Sasori, are you? Did you think that no one would see through your transformation?"

The owner of the evil voice stepped out from behind Kabuto. Naruto's eyes became heated with hate. He hated everything about this man. His pale, white skin. His beady serpent eyes. Orochimaru.

"He's not Sasori?" said a puzzled Kabuto, "then who is he?"

Orochimaru's wide grin went from ear to ear. "Yes, why don't you show us who you are?"

Naruto undid his transformation. It was Kabuto's turn to grin.

"Naruto-kun?! So it's you! But why did Sasori...don't tell me, you've killed Sasori, haven't you?"

"Yup," said Naruto, trying to keep calm, "and I got rid of that dumb partner of his too, Deidara."

"You shouldn't take all the credit, Naruto-kun," hissed Orochimaru, "I'm sure you had help from your friends who are hiding in the trees back there."

"_Damnit"_ cursed Naurto, "_he already knows about Suki and the others._"

Orochimaru and Kabuto found Naruto's hesitation amusing.

"You'd like to kill me right now, wouldn't you, Naruto-kun?" taunted Orochimaru.

And Kabuto added, "You never back down from anyone right? Let's see if you stick to that philosophy. You'll have to kill both of us if you want Sasuke-sama back."

Naruto stood as if his feet were glued to the ground. The snake Sannin laughed at him.

"It seems you don't have the guts to attack me. Or is it that you've grown a brain?"

Naruto was in a tight spot. They knew he was afraid. Not for his own life, but for the safety of the people precious to him. He hadn't been strong enough to save Takahiro, and if anything happened to Akiko and Suki, he'd never be able to live with himself.

Orochimaru shrugged. "I guess we can let you go this one time, Naruto-kun. You've destroyed some of my facilities, but I can always build new ones, and you've proven yourself to be quite useful in keeping Akatsuki's attention away from us and eliminating a few of their members. I'll keep you alive for now."

Naruto was having mixed feelings. He may not have another chance at Sasuke for a long time, but not fighting meant that his five companions could leave without a scratch.

"No. I want to kill him."

Naruto, who had just gotten over his temporary paralysis of fear, froze up again. He could never forget that voice, never in a million years.

"Let me kill him, Orochimaru," the unseen assailant repeated.

In a whirl of leaves, Sasuke appeared at Orochimaru's side. The deep, dark red sharingan eyes were staring Naruto down.

"Sasuke…"

"I was too weak minded to kill him last time. I still felt sad at the thought of him dying. But now, I'm ready to finish the job."

"Are you certain, Sasuke-kun? He can our job easier by killing Itachi's acquaintances."

Even though Orochimaru was talking to him, Sasuke's glare did not stray from Naruto.

"I need to finish him."

This wasn't good. It looked like a fight was going to be unavoidable. But if Naruto could keep the others out of it, he wouldn't have to worry about them.

"Fine. You and me, Sasuke. Just the two of us."

"That's the way I want it. Orochimaru, Kabuto, don't interfere."

The two of them began to walk away, but Naruto stopped them.

"Orochimaru, if I am to lose here, please allow my five companions to leave here unharmed."

The Sannin chuckled. "When Sasuke-kun kills you, you have my word that I'll let them leave in peace."

"As if your word means anything to me!" yelled Naruto.

"I swear." It was Sasuke who spoke. "I swear on the graves of my clan members that your friends will remain untouched. It is you I want, and only you. Orochimaru and Kabuto won't lay a hand on them."

That was enough to satisfy Naruto. The problem aside, Orochimaru and Kabuto walked away, turning to watch the fight at the bridge's edge.

Naruto faced the man who he had at one time considered his own brother.

"Sasuke! I-"

The Uchiha wasn't in the mood to talk.

"I didn't come here to talk, Naruto. I came to cut our bond, once and for all."

Before Naruto could blink, Sasuke was behind him. Unsheathing his hiltless sword, he stabbed at Naruto. Naruto spun around and just barely dodged it, the flat end of the sword grazing the fabric of his long cloak. He aimed a punch straight for Sasuke's face, but Sasuke caught the fist in his hand. He moved his hand up to Naruto's elbow, turned his back and pulled, throwing Naruto over his shoulder. The tan cloak swishing in mid-air, Naruto somersaulted so that he would land on his feet. But before his feet could touch the ground, Sasuke flashed in front of him. He managed to avoid the first few slashes from the kusanagi sword, but he was in an extremely bad position, and Sasuke's attacks were lightning fast. Naruto suffered a cut to his shoulder and a minor slash across the cheek, not to mention the pounding of a lifetime from Sasuke's fist. After all of that, Naruto hit the ground. Hard.

He grunted, the wind knocked out of him. He struggled to his feet.

"Is this worth it, Sasuke? Orochimaru is just using you for his own benefit!"

"I don't care. As long as I kill Itachi. Now shut up, I told you I didn't come here to talk."

Sasuke rushed in for another attack. Naruto flipped over his head, sending in a punch from above, and a low kick when he landed. Sasuke easily avoided both. Naruto jumped backwards, trying to put some distance between them so he could have time to make shadow clones. Sasuke's hands were busy with seals.

"Sen'eijashu!" (Hidden Shadow Snake Hand, or for those of you more familiar with the English dub anime, Striking Shadow Snake)

A long snake shot out from his baggy sleeve, holding the sword in its mouth. Naruto pinned the snake to the ground with a kunai before it reached him. A moment later, the bridge was crowded with clones. One by one, Sasuke slashed through them effortlessly. Naruto's clones threw shuriken at him from all directions. It was impossible for him to deflect all of them, and was left with shuriken in his back and chest. Or so Naruto thought. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke had replaced himself with a snake.

"Katon! Hinote Hebi!" (Fire Element: Fire Serpent)

A huge fire raged across the bridge in the form a snake, swallowing all of the clones in its flames. Naruto had to think fast. He remembered the technique Baine had taught him.

"Fuuton! Kyokan Reppuu!" (Wind Element: Giant Gale)

An immense gust of wind met the rampaging serpent, and Sasuke soon found his fire snake blowing right back at him. He jumped high above the flames, and the two clashing jutsu passed below him. Upon landing, he found himself face to face with another group of shadow clones.

"Wind Element jutsu, huh?"

"Yeah. You like it, Sasuke?"

"Hmph. You're still no match for me. While you've been running around trying to catch me, I've been training with Orochimaru, obtaining the power of a Sannin."

"Blah, blah, blah, look who's talking too much now!"

It was Naruto's turn to attack. Fifty of his clones overcrowded the small bridge and closed in on Sasuke, who rushed to meet them. Meanwhile, Naruto stayed back, forming the seals after biting his thumb hard enough to draw blood.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

He summoned a large toad about a foot taller than Naruto. An extra clone helped him form the rasengan in his left hand. Getting on the toad, he hopped into the fray. Sasuke didn't have a single scratch on him. Even though he was surrounded, the Narutos hadn't been able to get their hands on them. His sharingan read their movements perfectly. But he knew that eventually one of the clones would get to him if he didn't use a technique to take them all out at once. He formed his hand seals, but was surprised to find himself wrapped head to toe in a long tongue. In the midst of all the shadow clones, he hadn't seen the large toad approaching, and now he was stuck. Naruto leapt off of the toad's head on a collision course with Sasuke.

"Rasengan!"

At the last moment, the toad withdrew its tongue. Naruto thrust his hand at Sasuke. The rasengan was inches away from its target, but it hit nothing but air. Naruto had missed, and now he was off balance. He felt a sharp pain in his back, and suddenly he couldn't move. He was on his hands and knees, Sasuke's kusanagi buried in his back. The shadow clones and Naruto's toad disappeared.

"Not bad. If I didn't have the sharingan, you would have hit me with that. But through these eyes, it's as if you're moving in slow motion. You'll never get me with such an attack. As long as I have the sharingan, you can't beat me, Naruto"

He thrust his sword deeper into Naruto's back.

"I can channel the electrical power of the chidori through this swrod. Right now, you're paralyzed, unable to move. This is the end for you, Naruto. Goodbye."

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Akiko, Suki, and the temporary members of Rakugosha wanted to be out there with him, but he had ordered them to stay put. But now, with Naruto about to be done in, Suki couldn't hold herself back.

"I can't just stand here and watch this happen! We need to help him! Kiko!"

"I know, Suki. Is everyone else with us?" asked Akiko.

"We could all be wiped out," said Temari, "Orochimaru and Kabuto aren't far away."

Kankuro looked at his sister disapprovingly. "That runt put his life on the line for both Gaara and Suna. It's only right that we do the same for him."

Temari apologized. "You're right. Sorry."

"You know," said Yamato, "I wouldn't be much of an ANBU member if I let a chance to capture Orochimaru slip by."

They didn't have to say any more. Suki ran to Naruto and Sauke, followed closely by Akiko, the Sand ninja, and Yamato.

Sasuke slid his sword from Naruto's back and raised it in the air. But before he could bring it back down for the finishing blow, a kunai knocked it out of his hands. He looked up to see five people running towards him. But before they reached Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto blocked their path.

Kabuto grinned. "It's a shame. We promised Naruto-kun that we would let you guys leave this place alive. But now that you have shown an intention to fight, we'll have to kill you all. So much unnecessary bloodshed…"

Naruto cried out to them weakly.

"No! What the hell are you guys doing? I told you to stay put!"

They paid him no heed. Instead, they attacked. Akiko and Suki drew their attention to Kabuto, while Temari, Kankuro, and Yamato foguht Orochimaru. The battle raged across the bridge and onto solid ground. Naruto was still getting over the numbness of his body. For some reason, Sasuke hadn't finished him off yet. He was watching the ensuing fight that was taking place. Naruto supposed that Sasuke felt like he could finish him off whenever he wanted.

"Sasuke…do you not care what happens to anyone else? Don't you see how many people are suffering in order for you to get your revenge?"

"This is your fault, Naruto. You were chasing me. You brought these people with you. You led them to their deaths."

"Listen to yourself! Orochimaru has made you evil and filled you with hate. He used the hate you have for your brother to lure you!"

"I will kill Itachi. That's all that matters."

Naruto shook his head. "Revenge has blinded you, caused you to forget that there are other people who care about you that want to help. Don't turn your back on them!"

"What can you do to help? Can you make me strong enough to kill Itachi?" Sasuke was yelling.

"No. But back in Konha, you can live out your life happily with your friends, and…the one who loves you. You'll be happy, and won't have to live this life of vengeance. Does this life make you happy? Revenge is not the solution, Sasuke."

"How can you say that! Isn't your entire group made up of people who have something against Orochimaru?"

"You still don't understand? Even though Orochimaru destroyed their lives, they aren't driven by revenge. They want to stop him so that what happened to them won't happen to anyone else. He's destroyed your life as well, and we all came here to save you."

Naruto's tears fell. His emotions were building up inside.

"More than anyone else, they know how you feel. I know how you feel."

He took Takahiro's necklace and showed it to Sasuke.

"Do you see this? This once belonged to a good friend of mine, Miyushi Takahiro. He was the last of his clan. Orochimaru slaughtered them all when they refused to share the secrets of their genjutsu. He was like you when I found him, thirsty for revenge. But then I told him about you, about how you threw away your life in the name of revenge. He knew exactly how you felt, and he joined up with me so in hopes that he could help save you."

He tucked the necklace back under his shirt.

"All of them, no matter how badly their lives had been taken away by that bastard…revenge has never been never their goal. Their goal…is peace."

Sasuke seemed unaffected by Naruto's speech. "Then they wasted their time."

Naruto's blood began to boil. How could he say that about the people who had fought so hard and died trying to rescue him?

"Your dream is to become Hokage, is it not? You'd do anything to accomplish that dream. My dream is to kill my brother, and I'd do anything to see it done, as well."

"You're wrong. I wouldn't do anything to be Hokage. If it meant turning my back on my friends, I'd ditch being Hokage in a second!"

Sasuke considered his words carefully. "That's exactly why I'm doing this. Friends make you forget about what is most important to you. If you destroyed your ties, you might find becoming Hokage much easier. You don't have to worry about anything else and focus on your main goal."

"Being alone...it's something we've both felt, isn't it?" Naruto said quietly, "I know the bitter lonliness you have felt in your life, the dark and cold nightmare from which you feel like you'll never wake up. You were the same as me, trying to find someone who would acknowledge you, trying to find your purpose in life.When we became team 7, I could tell, you were happy. If only for a short while, you felt like you belonged somewhere. But now look at you. You're lonely once more. Deep down inside, you want to be happy again. I know. Why would anyone want to go back to being lonely?"

Sasuke punched him, infuriated. "Shut up! I told you, as long as I get to kill Itachi, I'll be happy!"

"I'm trying to help you, Sasuke. You are my friend. If you stay with Orochimaru, you'll only find more emptiness. Even after your brother is dead, what then? You'll have lost everything that you once held dear. Your body will belong to Orochimaru. And for what?"

"I said shut the hell up, Naruto!!!"

Sasuke tackled him and used his face as a punching bag. He forced Naruto to his feet by pulling his hair, and made him watch the fight.

"After you watch these people die, I will kill you."

His vision still a bit hazy from the beating he had just recieved, Naruto saw Orochimaru. He was smiling at Yamato.

"Moukuton techniques, eh? I knew I recognized you.You should be bowing down to me, I gave you those abilities, the talents of the First Hokage!"

"Isn't it ironic," Yamato said, "that the powers you gave me will be the power that kills you?"

"Hmmm...I doubt you have the capabilities to do so. You inherited his techniques, but you aren't the First."

Orochimaru's long neck struck out at Yamato and bit at his neck, only to get a mouthful of wood. The wooden bunshin shattered. Orochimaru didn't have time to look where the real Yamato had gone. Temari's Kamaitachi no jutsu (Slashing Wind Technique) came at him, and he was forced to jump out of it's path. Kankuro tried to position his puppet, Kuroari, so that Orochimaru would land inside of him.

"You think you can trap me so easily? Chouraku Suppai! (Acid Decay)"

A black substance spat from his mouth and covered the puppet. It ate away at the tough armor of Kuroari, armor that could withstand the hottest fire and the sharpest of blades.

"Mokuton! Mokusei Toge no Jutsu" (Wood Element: Wooden Splinter Technique)

Yamato's jutsu created a volley of wooden spikes that he shot at Orochimaru. The Sannin burned them away with a fire jutsu.

As this was happening, Akiko and Suki were having trouble with Kabuto. If he was a normal ninja, they would have killed him at least twice already, but his regenerative properties allowed him full recovery. Now, Akiko was fighting on her own, since Kabuto had used his techniques to ruin Suki's leg muscles. She managed to trap him in a metal box.

"Ninpo! Kabe Assai!" (Ninja Art: Wall Crushing Technique)

The walls of the box began to close in on Kaubto. His fists could be heard pounding against the solid walls of his prison. But another Chouraku Suppai by Orochimaru melted the metal away. Orochimaru's arsenal of forbidden techniques, proved to be too much for Yamato, Temari, and Kankuro to handle. They were all in bad shape, unable to lift a hand to help. Akiko stood alone aginat Kabuto and Orochimaru. She was tossed aside easily. The five Rakugosha huddled together, beaten and bloody. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood triumphant, breathing heavily.

"I can see how you managed to beat Sasori and Deidara," said Orochimaru, "you pushed me farther than I expected, but you never had a chance. I have hundreds and hundreds of techniques at my disposal. I have spent my life acheiving many things, breaking the boundaries of nature and death. A ninja's true power is in the number of techniques he can use."

Kabuto fell to one knee, his chakra almost out. "Orochimaru-sama, I apologize. You had to save me from that technique. I couldn't hold my own in this fight."

"No need to worry, Kabuto. If you weren't here, it would have been very difficult to handle all five at once, even for me. I'm not saying that they would have won, only that I would've been very tired at the end."

Naruto, his hair still in Sasuke's clutches, began to struggle.

"I'm doing you a favor, Naruto. Without these bonds of yours, you'll be free."

Naruto wasn't listening. He was lost in his own mind, and found himself standing in front of the kyuubi's cage.

**Ah, so you've come back. I thought you didn't need my power!**

"My...friends are in danger. I'm not strong enough to save them.

**Ha! So you've realized that you are nothing without me!**

"Please...to save my friends..."

**Yesssss...who do you wish to kill? Show them what we can do! **

Naruto stepped forward into the fox's red embrace. But both of them stopped when they felt another presence.

"Sasuke? How...Hey! get out of my head, you bastard!"

"So, this is your hidden power, Naruto."

The kyuubi seemed suprised by the intrusion.

**Those cursed eyes...you are an Uchiha, then**

"You know of my clan? So that must make you the nine-tailed fox."

"How'd you figure that out, genius? Was it the nine tails or the fox whiskers?" said Naruto.

**You...can even suppress my chakra...**

Sasuke reached out and laid his hand on the kyuubi. The chakra began to recede. The fox called out as he retreated.

**You...don't kill Naruto...**

The fox's power was gone. Naruto couldn't feel any trace of it in his body. He sank to his knees. His friends...

Coming back to his senses, Naruto saw Sasuke with a blank expression standing in front of him.

"You won't be getting help from that demon anytime soon. You're going to watch this. You're going to feel helpless. Then you'll finally know how I feel, to lose everyone...And then you will die."

Orochimaru and Kabuto were pacing back and forth.

"Look here, Kabuto. We have ourselves three pretty, helpless young girls...whatever should we do with them?" Orochimaru licked his lips.

Kabuto grabbed Temari's shoulder, sending his chakra into her body and causing extreme pain. Kankuro couldn't do a thing while his sister screamed.

"Whatever we want..." he replied.

Orochimaru slapped Akiko's face into the dirt.

"Please, don't!" cried Naruto, "they're no threat to you anymore. Let me and Sasuke finish our fight."

The pale faced man laughed. "A bleeding heart, just like those two idiots, Sarutobi-sensei and Jiraiya. Fine, we won't harm them." The two gave Sasuke and Naruto some room to fight.

But Sasuke had something else in mind.

"No. I want you to know what it's like to have those close to you killed before your very eyes! Then you'll finally understand what it feels like to be me!"

He threw Naruto aside and stood in front of Suki, who spit at his feet.

"Naruto. This is what it's like to lose everything!"

Naruto desperatley struggled to his feet, but didn't have the power to push himself up.

"You're such an idiot, Sasuke! If you know how painful it is to lose someone close to you, then why would you try to destroy your bonds with them?"

Naruto kept on trying to get up. Takahiro's necklace dangled from his neck. For Hiro, and for Baine and Sato as well, who had died so that Naruto could live, he refused to let this be the end.

He managed to get one foot flat on the ground.

For Sakura, who was depending on him, he would keep his promise. For Iruka-sensei, who was the only one who had given him a chance, and for all those who believed in him, he wasn't going to let them down.

The other foot was planted, firmly engraved into the soil.

"So you stood up, big deal," said Sasuke, "you don't have any chakra left to stop me."

He hit Suki and unsheathed his sword.

"Don't you dare hit Suki. If you touch her again...I'll kill you." There was strength behind his words.

A barely visible grin flashed on Sasuke's lips.

"Don't make me laugh. You wouldn't kill me, even if you could. You are bound by your word to bring me back to the village."

"I promised," started Naruto, his voice growing stronger, "to bring Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. You aren't him. You're just a sad excuse. The real Sasuke was ten times the man you will ever be. And if you so much as lay a finger on her, I won't hesitate."

Kabuto and Orochimaru waited to see how this played out. The five defeated ninja could only wait to see what happened.

Smiling, Sasuke ran a finger through Suki's hair. "What is this girl to you? Are your bonds strong with her? Allow me to break them!"

The tip of his sword was aimed straight at her heart. At a moment's notice, Naruto was in front of her, his foot in Sasuke's gut. Sasuke flew backwards ten feet, but he landed on one knee.

"Suki. She's special to me. And if you want to hurt her, I'll protect her with everything I've got! I'll protect them all!"

Suddenly, the air was thick with Naruto's chakra. He was producing so much that the air itself was heavy with it. Sasuke's eyes quivered with uncertainty.

"_Where did he get such power without the kyuubi?"_

He had seen this once before. To protect Sakura, Naruto had drawn forth a great power and was able to beat Gaara's transformed state, which Sasuke hadn't been able to do even with the power of Orochimaru's curse mark. He remembered Naruto's exact words on that day so long ago...

(flashback)

"He's like me"

Sasuke was suprised to see Naruto back on his feet, the light of determination shining brightly in his eyes as he looked at Gaara's shukaku form.

"I've felt the same lonliness and saddness in my life. That's why I thought he was strong , because he was alone and only fought for himself. But that's not what being strong means. You can't truly become strong if you fight for yourself."

(end flashback)

Suki and the others could feel the chakra as well.

"Not that I'm complaining," said Temari, who had also been there to witness Naruto's battle against Gaara, "but where the hell does that kid get his energy?"

"The Third once told me," began Yamato, "that the true strength of a ninja comes out when trying to protect something they cherish."

He paused, and smiled, looking back at Akiko and Suki.

"Judging by the amount of chakra Naruto has squeezed out, I think it's safe to say that you two are really important."

Orochimaru overheard them, laughed, and taunted Naruto. "Sarutobi-sensei and Jiraiya have deluded you! You can't win this battle through sheer determination and willpower. Sasuke-kun will show you what having talent really means!"

Naruto ignored him.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A toad appeared, even more gigantic than the first one. It leapt into the air, it's purpose to crush Sasuke under it's montrsous weight. Sasuke, still in a daze and remembering Naruto's words, was barely able to move out of the way.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones came sliding in towards Sasuke.

"U-zu-ma-ki!" They were trying to set him up for Naruto's signature combo.

"Chidori Nagashi!" (One Thousand Birds Current)

Sasuke's body was flowing with the chidori, and when the clones made contact with him, they were destroyed. Naruto couldn't see the seals Sasuke was making, but he ended with the Tiger, so Naruto knew what was coming.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" (Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique)

Naruto safely escaped on the toad's back. He had to find a way around the sharingan. If he used his moves carelessly, Sasuke would counter them or even copy them, which would just be a waste of effort and chakra. And he couldn't let himself get caught in any of the sharingan's genjutsu either. Even though Takahiro had worked with him a bit, countering genjutsu wasn't exactly his greatest strength. To use his two best techniques, the upgraded rasengan and the special summoning Baine and Sato had taught him, he'd have to get close to Sasuke, which would be dangerous. Naruto cursed. Damn his sharingan.Naruto threw two kunai at Sasuke, who lifted his sword to block. The kunai transformed into two Naruto clones which grabbed ahold of Sasuke's arms. Naruto jumped off of the frog's head with rasengan in his hands once again. Sasuke used a simple replacement, but not before setting a trap for Naruto. When he landed, several wires that had been planted by Sasuke entagled Naruto to the ground. With his victim trapped, Sasuke formed the same hand signs for Goukakyuu no jutsu. The fire burst from his mouth and scorched its' target.

"Naruto!" Suki and Akiko cried for him at the same time.

Despite being triumphant, Sasuke's emotions were rattled. He didn't think he'd feel so much...regret. As he tried to sort through his momentary confusion, he was unaware that the toad Naruto had summoned was directly behind him. As the smoke from his jutsu cleared, he noticed that Naruto's body was gone. It had been a shadow clone. Sasuke found himself feeling relieved...even though he didn't want to feel relieved.

Behind him, the large toad opened it's huge mouth. Naruto had hidden himself inside. The ultimate jutsu he had created glowed in his hand. The frog's tongue lashed out at Sasuke at high speeds, carrying Naruto with it.

"Fuuton! Rasengan!"

"Kuchiyose! Rashomon!"

It was Orochimaru. He had stepped in and saved Sasuke by summoning two huge black gates that had absorbed Nauruto's attack. After he did so, he collapsed.

"This body...it's beggining to weaken..."

Kabuto came and helped his master up. "It's okay, Orochimaru-sama. We have Sasuke-sama. That's all that matters."

The two turned to Sasuke. Kabuto and Orochimaru had reached their limit, and Sasuke was losing out to Nauro.

"Let's go, Sasuke-kun. It can't be helped. We can kill him another day."

Still sorting through his emotions, Sasuke turned to leave with them. If Naurto was going to do something to bring Sasuke back, this was his last chance. He dismissed the toad.

"Sasuke!" he called. Sasuke stopped.

"Kill me!"

Sasuke didn't turn to face him.

"What are you waiting for? Come on! I'll even let you do it!"

Sasuke couldn't refuse. He wanted to conquer the feeling of remorse that he had felt earlier. He had to prove that he had enough hatred to kill Naruto...and Itachi. He went to where Naruto was standing.

"Why? Why would you let me kill you?"

"To teach you something."

The chidori chirpped loudly.

"Teach me something?"

"That's right. Sasuke...at one time, we thought of each other as brothers. That connection...it's not something that can be broken by death. We'll always be connected to each other. You already know that. You still love your mother and father right, even though they are gone. The same goes for your brother. Even if you kill him, your hatred for him will still remain. Killing Itachi won't satisfy you, and it won't solve anything. You're suffering inside, Sasuke. The only cure for what you're feeling is to surround yourself with people who care about you."

"You're wrong," said Sasuke, "once I kill you, I can finally forget about you."

Naruto closed his eyes. He would feel the power of the chidori close to him. This might be the only way to make Sasuke understand. He was taking a risk here, but he knew that deep down within his friend, the old Sasuke was still there, waiting in darkness for someone to save him. The chirpping ceased.

Naruto opened his eyes. The sharigan had gone, and Sasuke's black pupils quivered with uncertainty.

"I...I..."

His hands were shaking.

"Sasuke..."

Orochimaru frowned.

"If you're not going to kill him, then let's g-"

His sentence was cut short. Two vine-like tendrils stabbed through his body, and he screamed out in pain. A shocked Kabuto jumped back in fear. Two more tendrils shot through his chest, then all four of them ripped Orochimaru's pale body to shreds. His eyes widening, Sasuke only fell further into his daze of emotional confusion. The man in the Akatsuki uniform smiled.

"I've always wanted to do that."

Kabuto stuttered, genuinely afraid. The man who he had followed and worshipped had just been killed.

"Y-you...must be Zetsu!"

The plant-like man, if you can call him a man, ignored Kabuto and went straight to Naruto.

"I suppose I shoud thank you and you're friends, kyuubi-kun. With Orochimaru weak and distracted, it was easy for me to kill him."

Naruto was just as astonished as everyone else, but he tried to stand his ground and sound confident.

"You bastard! I wanted to kill him!"

Zetsu chuckled, his leafy body shook as he did so.

"Itachi-san told me to leave you alone, but I followed you just in case. It's a good thing I did. The leader will praise me for killing Orochimaru and capturing you."

"Just try it! I'll make you into a caesar salad!"

Zetsu didn't like the joke.

He threw an odd, green ball at Naruto. When it got close, it exploded and released some sort of chemical that put Naruto to sleep. Yamato, Temari, Kankuro, Suki, and Akiko could only curse and threaten Zetsu as he scooped up their unconcious leader.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a bijuu to remove. I think Itachi-san will be suprised..."

And in an instant, he and Naruto were gone.

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So yeah, it's a little long and tedious, but I didn't want Sasuke and Naruto to fight for like two minutes and then have Sasuke turn good again, so I dragged it out. I'd love to know what you guys think because I'm unsure of how everything unfolded myself...I may rewrite it, I may not. It just depends if I think of a better way to do it all or not. Killing Orochimaru, making Sasuke doubt himself and his revenge, and Zetsu coming to capture Naruto was a last minute addition...

Anyway, thanks for reading this story and hope you'll continue with it next time. I know there are a few spelling errors here and there, so thanks for hanging in there with me. See ya. Have a nice day :)


	16. Impending Disaster

Thanks for the feedback. Really. Sorry this chapter couldn't be as eventful as the last, but once again, it's a short one setting up the next few. I'd like to show my appreciation once again by saying thanks for reading the story and hope that you'll like what I have in store.

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"Wha…what just happened?"

Kabuto sat in the dirt, repeating the question over and over again.

Sasuke, sitting twenty feet to his left, was in even worse condition. Orochimaru was dead. His chance at vengeance, gone. However, just a moment ago, when he had failed to kill Naruto, he hadn't been thinking about revenge. He had been thinking about team 7. He had imagined the view of the sunrise on Hokage Mountain in Konoha, and the feeling of warmth he used to feel with Naruto and Sakura standing there on either side of him as the new day started. Sasuke pushed the thought out of his mind. Such things were signs of weakness. But the memory came crawling back, the feeling of warmth; the feeling of home. He didn't want to feel this. He hated feeling this. His heart yearned to be filled with cold hatred. And yet no matter how hard he tried the feeling just refused to go away. Naruto…what was it about that loser that sparked these stupid memories?

Suki tried to will everyone to their feet.

"Come on! We have to get him back! We just…have to…"

She started to cry at the hopelessness of the situation. They could barely stand, much less run after Zetsu.

"Damnit!" she cried, her tears soaking into the earth, "Naruto…"

"It will be all right, Suki, it will be all right," Akiko murmured, trying to reassure her friend and herself as well.

Yamato grunted as he tried to walk, and Temari and Kankuro were trying their best too. The younger of them picked up the pieces to his puppets.

"There's a small town not far from here." Yamato pointed north."If we can make it, the town has a doctor that specializes in herbs. It won't be as fast or efficient as healing jutsu, but it's our only option if we want to hurry and catch up with Naruto."

"But, we don't even know where that guy is taking him," said Kankuro.

Yamato held up a torn peice of cloth.

"You've all met Kakashi-san, right? He might be able to track Naruto by the scent of his cloak."

Suki shook her head.

"That won't do! If we go back to Konoha, we'll lose valuable time!"

Yamato sighed. "I'm sorry Suki, but look at our situation. In our current condition, we can't chase after Naruto, nor do we have the stanima to make it to Konoha. And, just and Kankuro-san pointed out, we don't know where Zetsu is headed. The only thing we can do is head for that hospital, regain our strength, and go to Godaime-sama for help. It's the best course of action to take right now."

"Well then lead the way, Yamato-taichou," said Akiko, "we can't waste any more time standing here."

They all nodded and followed Yamato's slow pace.

"Wait!"

Sasuke called to them.

"I...I'm coming with you..."

Suki's eyes narrowed. Although she had learned a lot about him from Naruto, this was the first time she had ever seen Sasuke in person.

"Why? Why do you want to come with us?"

"I...I still don't know what to do. Orochimaru is dead. Naruto...right now I'm still not sure if I want to kill him or keep him alive, but I do know that I have to talk to him again. It's the only way I'll be able to get my head straight and figure out my next move."

Suki's voice was rigid.

"Are you sure it's not because you might see Itachi?"

Sasuke's hands balled into fists at his brother's name.

"Does it matter?" he yelled, "I'm going to follow you no matter what! I want to help you, Suki!" He remembered what Naruto had called her.

Suki looked into his eyes unwaveringly.

"Only because Naruto believed in you and was willing to give you a second chance, we'll tolerate you for now. And don't call me Suki. We're not freinds."

She turned away from him and continued walking. Sasuke followed, staying a good distance behind them.

Their minds on Naruto, no one had noticed that Kabuto had slipped away...

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Shikamaru headed to the top of the Hokage Tower. He was thinking out loud as he moved up the staiway.

"Why does this tower have to have so many steps..."

He heard voices coming from further along the corridor. As he got closer, he could tell that someone was yelling. He recognized Tsunade's thunderous shouts. He'd sure hate to be on the receiving end of her fury right now, or any time for that matter. He tried to listen at who she was arguing with, but he couldn't hear anyone. He was supposed to come give Tsunade a report from the Academy, but it sounding like they had something else going on. He stopped outside the door and leaed against the wall. He'd just have to wait until the storm blew over.

"I assure you, Danzou, that I always think about Konoha first and everything else second!" came Tsunade's voice again.

Since he was closer, Shikamaru could hear who she was talking to. Whoever it was, he sure knew how to keep calm. Tsunade could blow over mountains with that voice of hers...

"That makes two of us, Tsunade-sama. All I want is for the village to have a strong leader."

The door flew open, and an old man walked out, some sort of bandage wrapped around his head. The man spotted Shikamaru and gave him a look so icy that Shikamaru actually shivered. Then he walked away, muttering something about a "lazy son of a bitch" under his breath.

"What was that all about?" asked Shikamaru as he entered.

Tsunade had her hands on her head, stressed.

"He wanted to see the report from the mission to save Gaara-sama..."

"Oh...why did he want to do that?"

"He's been trying to overthrow Tsunade-sama for a long time now," said Shizune, who was seemingly always at the Hokage's side, "he's an old opponent of the Third Hokage, and when the Godaime was chosen he obviosly protested since she was a student of Sarutobi-sama. So naturally, when he found out that we had sent you and a handful of chuunin on a mission with a foreign group, he tried to dig up as much information as he could about Rakugosha in attempt to ruin Tsunade's reputation."

"I tried to keep it as quiet as I could, but with his ROOT division, he has eyes and ears everywhere..."

Shikamaru nodded and moved closer to them so he could speak softer. "So you destroyed my report, then."

"Of course we did. I had Shizune burn it right after you gave it to me."

"So what was your excuse to Danzou for not having it?" asked Shikamaru.

Tsunade smiled. "I told him that Nara Shikamaru was in charge of everything, and you were too lazy to write a report. The Nara clan is infamous, you know..."

"Oh? So that's why he looked at me that way. So what's this ROOT division?"

"A special group of ANBU that is directly under the control of Danzou. They are extremely loyal to him," answered Shizune.

"Sounds troublesome for you, Tsunade-sama. Anyway, here's the latest update from the Academy. There are some promising genin candidates this year."

"Thank you, Shikamaru. I'll look over it later."

He left, and Tsunade reached into her desk for her sake.

"You shouldn't drink so much, Tsunade-sama. I know you're stresssed, but..."

Tsunade brought the bottle to her lips and took a long drink. She handed it to Shizune, who did the same. Outside on the window ledge, Jiraiya tapped on the glass, and Shizune let him in.

"You're back," said Tsunade, "did you find out anything?"

The white haired man shook his head. "I couldn't find any clues as to what Akatsuki is planning with their newly accquired bijuu. The only thing I can say for sure is that there are only two left, and they are close to obtaining Shichibi, the seven tails. Soon Naruto will be the only one left."

Tsunade didn't like it at all. "So that means they'll all be after him. We need to find a way to get him back into Konoha where it's safe as soon as possible."

Jiraiya snatched the sake from Shizune. "Well, we can't just tell the village council that Naruto's been alive for all these years and hasn't returned to the village, and we can't keep his identity a secret for much longer."

"We know, Jiraiya."

They shared the bottle, and the three of them emptied it in no time. Tsunade pulled another one from her desk.

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Suki felt the pain decrease as the doctor's ointments were rubbed on her wounds. It was cool and soothing. Yamato sat not far away, having already been tended to. He was thinking about Naruto.

"That Uzumaki Naruto...I never expected him to be so strong. I was truly impressed with his fight."

Temari was also done being treated.

"That's how I felt, too, when I saw him fight Gaara. It seems he's gotten a lot stronger since then."

"At first I didn't think he stood a chance against Sasuke," said Yamato, "and that rasengan...even the Fourth couldn't master it. How in the world did Naruto...?"

"Shadow clones."

Suki explained to them how Naruto had been training.

Yamato was facsinated even more. "I see, so what would have normally taken him 12 years only took him six months. But still, the Yondaime spent his entire life trying to complete that jutsu. Naruto is incredible."

Those words made Suki smile to herself.

"It's not fully complete yet, more like 70 percent, but it's still very powerful."

She and Akiko were a bit suprised, however. They didn't know that the Fourth Hokage wasn't able to complete it.

"He is very strong," said Yamato, continuing with his praise of Naruto, "even without the kyuubi. I'd hate to see what he can do when he uses the fox's chakra. I was sent on this mission because I have an ability to control the power of a jinchuuriki, but I didn't have to use it this time around."

He noticed Suki and Akiko's depression, and he breifly told them of his past and Orochimaru's experiments that gave him the Shodaime's genes.

"When I was a young ninja, I remember the kyuubi attack on Konoha. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life. The red chakra, I could feel it's foulness tingling on my body from miles away, I could taste it's evil in the air. What's so amazing about Naruto is that he can withstand having that kind of power inside of him. It's true that the Fourth Hokage's seal is what keeps the kyuubi in check, but Naruto's spirit and chakra has a lot to do with it too."

Sasuke was sitting quietly by himself, listening to them go on and on about Naruto.

"Su...I mean, Yasuka-san, I can tell that you are really close to Naruto. If Zetsu were to kill him, wouldn't you want to kill Zetsu?"

Suki's eyes were harsh, her voice, stern.

"Weren't you listening to anything Naruto was telling you? Even if I killed Zetsu, it wouldn't make me miss Naruto any less. He'd still be gone. Killing Zetsu, killing all of Akatsuki wouldn't bring him back. That's why I'm going to fight with all my heart to make sure that doesn't happen."

Sasuke stood up and walked off.

"I'll be waiting outside of town. Hurry up and get healed so we can leave."

They watched him until he was out of sight.

"Do you think there's hope for him?" Suki asked Akiko.

"He had a chance to kill Maki-san, but he didn't do it. I'd say that's a step in the right direction."

Suki took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I sure hope he's changed. Baka-kun will be really sad if he runs off again."

As dusk setteld in, they left the small town and headed for the Leaf Village.

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Itachi stared at the boy that Zetsu was carrying.

"I thought I told you to leave him be."

"But Itachi-san, he was fighting Orochimaru. I killed him and took Naruto-kun prisoner at the same time."

"Naruto-kun was my responsibility as well as Kisame's. Did you lack faith in our ability to capture him?"

"N...no! Of course not, Itachi-san."

"Then you wanted to make us look bad, and take the praise for yourself. You're role in this whole operation is to observe and report, not track down the jinchuuriki and kill Orochimaru."

"You're just jealous that I just pulled off what you haven't been able to do in two years!"

The Uchiha's eyes were dangerous.

"Do you doubt my skill? Do you think that I can't kill you where you stand?"

Zetsu returned the hostile glare, but didn't respond.

"Well, nothing can be done about it now," said Itachi, "Hidan and Kakuzu will have to halt their search for the seven-tailed beast in order to complete the extraction ceremony."

"Yes. We are short on members, so the procedure will take much longer. We should hurry to headquarters as fast as possible."

"No need to rush, Zetsu. We're only two days away. Hidan and his partner are far. We'll have to wait at least four or five days before they make it back."

"Yeah but, kyuubi-kun's friends will be looking for us."

Itachi's malicious eyes were on Zetsu once again. "You didn't kill them?"

"Well I..."

"You are more foolish than I thought, Zetsu."

"Please accept my apologies, Itachi-san, I wasn't thinking at the time."

"This could cause problems," said Itachi. A sudden thought crossed his mind. "What of my brother?"

"He was still alive, last time I saw him."

For the slightest of moments, Itachi's red eyes showed just a hint of emotion.

"That's a shame."


	17. Pursuit

What's goin on, everyone? I finished my homework in like 3 seconds flat today and was bored so I went and wrote the next chapter. But now that I've finished it, I find myself with nothing to do...again. Well, please enjoy, because if no one enjoys it then that would pretty much suck. Thank Hilarious Tragedy for the timeliness of this chapter whose threat of rampant fangirlyness made me write so quickly. Well that, and the fact that I have no life.

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The massive walls of Konoha cradled the village within its protective grasp. It was a sight for sore eyes. Six ninja approached from the south, their pace reflected upon the urgent purpose for which they had come. One of them, however, broke off from the group. He wasn't quite ready to return to the village; he didn't think he wanted to. Being this close to the village of his birth was hard for him. It was decided that he would remain outside the village and wait for everyone else to return with backup. He had borrowed the attire of Rakugosha from Suki, and with the long cloak hiding his face, Sasuke waited at the predetermined meeting spot.

Two guards at the gate greeted Yamato as the team walked into the paved streets. Once deep within the city, they weaved their way through the hectic late morning rush. Two Sand ninja, an ANBU captain, and two mysterious young girls made up the strange group, getting obvious glances from the villagers. Their bandages made them appear more out of place among the commonfolk of the village. The Hokage's tower loomed high over the other buildings, a testament to Tsunade's authority. Up to the office they walked, and Yamato knocked on the large wooden doors.

"You may enter," Shizune beckoned.

Tsunade was neck high in paperwork once again, but stood at attention when she saw who had just walked into the room. Suki and Akiko bowed to her in respect.

"What a suprise!" she said, "I didn't think I'd be seeing the two of you back so soon! And with Suna ninja as well!"

"Don't look so happy, Tsunade-sama," said Yamato, "I'm about to tell you some bad news."

Tsunade's smile vanished. "What is it?"

"Naruto. He's been captured by Akatsuki."

Tsunade froze where she stood. Her breathing stopped. She looked Yamato dead in the eyes.

"What...did you...just say?"

Yamato couldn't look at her. "I'm sorry I let this happen, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked desperately at the others present, hoping and praying that one of them would tell her that this was a joke. None of them returned her gaze. They all stared at the floor. Tsunade couldn't hide her feelings. She kncoked over her desk with one finger, the papers flying in all directions. She fell back into her chair and covered her face.

"Tell me what happened..." she said softly.

Yamato began the story from the time he had joined up with Naruto at the bridge..

"When I introduced myself, he seemed really concered about you, Tsunade-sama..."

Shizune and Tsunade listened to Yamato tell them about Kabuto being the spy, the fight that occurred on the bridge, the death of Orochimaru, and the capture of Naruto. For the two women, it was a lot to take in.

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Orochimaru is dead?" asked the Hokage.

"Unless he can survive his flesh being ripped into tiny pieces, then yes, he is dead," Yamato told her.

"And Sasuke is outside of the village walls at this very moment?"

"Yes. He didn't want to enter the gates."

"What happened to Kabuto?" asked Shizune.

Yamato shook his head. "We were worrying so much about Naruto that I guess we forgot about him. I don't know where he is now."

Tsunade took everything she had just heard into account. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to keep a level head. It wouldn't do Naruto any good if she panicked.

"Okay," she said, "Shizune, send for Kakashi right away."

Shizune did as she was told. She almost ran into Shikamaru as he entered the room. They bowed an apology to each other and went on their way. Looking around the room and seeing the expression and Tsunade's desk on the floor, he knew something was up.

"What's going on? I saw Suki and Akiko walking and I figured that they were coming here. Is something the matter?"

Tsunade didn't feel like repeating the words, so Yamato did it for her. "Akatsuki. They have Naruto."

Shikamaru nodded. No wonder everyone was so down. "So what's our plan to get him back?" he asked.

"Kakashi is going to try and track Naruto by scent."

"Well...I want to help. Can I go on this mission, Tsunade-sama?"

Before she answered, Kankuro stepped forward.

"Before you say anything, Hokage-sama, let me say that I won't be of much use with my puppets like this, so I'll head back to Sunagakure and tell Gaara what happened."

"That's fine," said Tsunade after he was finished, "Shikamaru, you are now part of this mission."

Shizune came back as quickly as she could, Kakashi behind her.

"Shizune-san has already breifed me on the mission. We don't have any time to waste, so let's get moving."

Two elite Leaf jonin, a Sand jonin, two girls who were strong enough to be jonin, and a lazy yet clever chuunin. Was that enough? Tsunade wanted to be on the safe side.

"Shizune, you're going with them. Please provide your medical expertise."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"I'm leaving it to all of you. Bring Naruto back safely," Tsunade told them as they left.

That was what Kakashi intended. This time, he wasn't going to be too late to save his students.

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Sasuke was sitting at the rendezvous point as he had been told, thinking of nothing in particualr, just waitng. A noise from below caught his attention. It was someone's footsteps lightly crunching the crisp morning grass. Looking to see at who was passing through, he leaned over the branches for a better view. A familiar girl came into view; red dress, pink hair, green eyes, large forehead. Sasuke stared at her.The last time he had seen this girl, she had been crying and begging him not to leave. How did he feel about her? Love? No, it definitely wasn't love, but there was no doubt that she had once been a close friend. But if he had a future with anyone in Konoha, it was with her. Many questions flooded Sasuke's mind. They all led up to the ultimate question: was he wrong to have left the village? This was the question that Sasuke needed to answer. Sakura stopped, sensing the presence of another person.

"Who's there?"

Sasuke dropped down in front of her. Sakura didn't expect to see the tan cloak of Rakugosha. She ran to him, but Sasuke jumped back.

"Is it you...Naruto?"

Sasuke shook his head. Sakura held out her hand.

"Then...if you're not him, take off your hood."

Sasuke shook his head again.

"Naruto...why? Why don't you want to talk to me?"

She approached him slowly.

"Naruto-"

She heard other people approaching. Kakashi, Suki, Akiko, Shikamaru, Yamato, Temari, and Shizune were running towards her. They all stopped when they saw what was going on.

"Let's go," said Kakashi stared at Sasuke, "we're leaving."

He wanted to speak to his old pupil again, but now simply wasn't the best time. There were more important things to be done.

"What's going on?" asked Sakura.

"If you want an explanation, go see Tsunade-sama. I don't have the time right now."

Before anything else could be said, they were all gone. Akiko stayed behind for a quick, "Later, Haruno-san," before taking off after Kakashi.

Forgetting why she had come out here in the first place, she headed off to see her sensei.

Kakashi led everyone a little further from the village before summoning his pack of highly trained dogs. He let them sniff Naruto's clothing, and they all stuck thier noses in the air. While they were trying to find the scent, Kakashi told the others his plan.

"The enemy doesn't know how much of us there are. It's better if we travel in two seperate groups. That way, if Akatsuki plans an ambush, we all won't get caught in it at the same time. Suki, Akiko, Sasuke, you're with me. Shikamaru, Temari, Shizune, you guys are with Yamato." He handed whistle to Yamato. "Each group will have one of my dogs with them. That is a dog whistle which can't be heard by the human ear. If we're ambushed, blow the whistle, and the dogs will hear it and notify one of us jonin. That's how we'll know if the other group is under attack or not. The whistle's range in about 200 yards, but with all the trees to hinder the sound vibrations, it's more like 150."

Everyone nodded and showed that they understood.

"Can any of you pick up anything from here?" he asked the dogs.

Pakkun nodded. "It's faint, but I can smell it...this way!"

Another one of the dogs nodded as well.

"Good. Pakkun, go with Yamato's group."

With their formation plan thought out, the two groups separated.

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Itachi. Kisame. Zetsu. The three of them met on a hilltop somewhere along the border of the fire country. Although the leader of Akatsuki possessed all of the authority, the other members looked at the Uchiha as the unofficial second in command.

"Because of Zetsu's foolishness, we should expect pursuers. We can't afford to lead them to our base of operations, so Kisame and I will ambush them. Zetsu will continue with Naruto-kun."

Itachi pointed out the rip in Naruto's cloak.

"They will most likely track us by scent. We can use this to our advantage to lure them into a trap and kill them all at once."

Kisame smiled, showing his jagged teeth. "I like the sound of that. I haven't seen any action in a while. Samehada needs blood."

When asked how long Naruto would be asleep, Zetsu told them that the toxin he had used to subdue Naruto would stay in his body for another 36 hours.

"Good. That gives us plenty of time to execute our plan."

Kisame knew the look in Itachi's eyes. When he got like this, Kisame knew from past experiences that anyone foolish enough to cross his path was as good as dead. Even his fellow Akatsuki knew not to provoke Itachi during moments like these.

"Our quest is almost finished," Itachi told them, "soon, all of the bijuu will belong to Akatsuki. Everything will belong to Akatsuki."

As he explained the plan to Zetsu and Kisame, the shark-man gave a satisfied smile. Things were going to get bloody. Very, very bloody.

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When Sakura got to Tsunade's office, she found it in quite a mess. Papers were scattered on the floor. Pieces of Tsunade's desk were littered across the room. Her Sannin teacher was sitting in her chair with a grave look on her face.

"Tsunade-sensei?" she asked with a confused tone, "what happened?"

"I just got...some incredibly bad news."

"Does it have to do with Rakugosha?"

"How did you know that?"

"I saw Kakashi-sensei with Suki and Akiko-san. And I saw Naruto out in the forest."

"That...is impossible, Sakura," said Tsunade.

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Naruto...he's been taken by Akatsuki."

The girl's reaction was similar to Tsunade's when she had first heard the news.

"This...can't be..."

Her expression didn't change as Tsunade told her what Yamato had told them. When she got to the part about Sasuke...

"What? So the person I saw out there was...Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura's mind was a blur. She sat on the floor, crumpling papers under her weight. She hadn't forgotten what would happen to a jinchuuriki if it's demon was extracted. She had been so close to Sasuke and Naruto without even knowing it had been them until after they were gone, and now she was in danger of losing them once again.

"Why...didn't you come and get me. I could have helped..."

"The situation may have been too emotional for you, Sakura. With Naruto...and Sasuke, I didn't think it would have been a good idea if you went along with them."

For the rest of the day, the two women stayed in the room together, bound together with their feelings of concern for a young man whom they loved in different ways. Tsunade as younger brother, Sakura as...well to tell the truth, she really wasn't sure.

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Danzou was suprised, yet pleased by the information he had just recieved. Orochimaru's death, Uchiha Sasuke's current status, and Uzumaki Naruto's kidnapping. When he had first gotten the annonymous letter, he had doubted that the person who had written it really had valuable information. But he was glad that he had chosen not to ignore it and had met with this guy.

"Why would you tell me this?" he asked the man standing in the darkness.

"Think of it as an act of good will, Danzou-san. I believe it would be in our best interests to team up. We can help each other get what we want."

"I'm listening."

"I want to help you seize the title of Hokage from Tsunade-sama so you'll be able to rule over Konoha as you see fit."

Danzou frowned. "And what do you get out of this partnership?"

The man chuckled and fixed his glasses.

"Everything I've ever wanted."


	18. Ambush

Hey everyone. By my usual update standards, this chapter is a little late and it's not very long, so sorry. I've just had a few things here and there goin on and not much time to sit and write. Well, please enjoy and thank you guys (and girls) for sticking with this story.

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When he shut his eyes, he could see their blood spill onto the floor and coat his blade with red. When the world was silent, he could hear their voices begging and screaming for mercy. When he stared off into the blackness of the night, he could imagine the bewilderment in their eyes as their life was drained away. His victims had been unable to speak with the exception of yelling out in pain, but they conversed with their eyes. Shivering, fearful eyes that had asked him only one question: why?

If he remembered correctly, it was his father's eyes that shivered the most. Oh, how they trembled, the wetness from his tears making his black pupils shine like a jewel. It was his father that had given him the most satisfaction. Uchiha Fugaku. A pitiful ending for a pitiful man, and a well deserved ending to a fallen clan. Itachi and Sasuke were the only ones left. He had hoped that his younger brother would walk the same path as him, ignoring the Uchiha way of life and following the path of revenge that Itachi had set before him. The older Uchiha had been very much disappointed when he heard of Sasuke's failure to kill Naruto. Although it was a good thing that the kyuubi wasn't harmed, Sasuke's hesitation meant that he still had softness in his heart. Even after reading the ancient Uchiha scrolls and witnessing the murder of his clan, Sasuke had grown weak, just like the Uchiha had grown weak. And Itachi had his sights set on killing his younger brother. He knew that Sasuke was coming. He could feel his presence approaching. Once and for all, Itachi would be rid of any trace of his former clan.

It was almost here. By the time the sun set on this fateful day, the last two survivors of the Uchiha clan would settle their differences. It was all going to end. Brothers by blood, enemies through hatred, one of them would die today. Itachi was highly confident that it wasn't going to be him. His vision was locked on a single spot. Whoever it was that was chasing after Naruto, they would be coming down this path soon. Their lust for battle surging to unprecedented levels, Kisame and his partner were looking forward to inflicting as much pain as possible.

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Sakura was hanging around in the Hokage's quarters. She had helped her sensei clean up the huge mess that was made earlier and decided to stick around while Tsunade got some work done. A new desk had been provided for her, and she was sitting quietly while going through her personal ocean of important documents. She couldn't bring herself to focus entirely on the papers. Naruto was on her mind, so she had fetched a bottle of sake to indulge herself in. Occasionally she would glance up at her apprentice in concern.

"Do you want alcohol?" she kidded, "It looks like you could use some."

Sakura had seen Tsunade drink heavily before, so watching this was nothing special. Still, she had never offered to share before. Sakura's face was thoughtful was she considered the offer.

Tsunade grinned.

"Come on, even though you're underage, one shot won't do any harm."

She poured Sakura a small glass. The girl reached out and took the cup.

"What kind of responsible adult are you, giving sake to minors? Especially someone of your status!"

"If you don't feel comfortable, don't take it!" Tsunade laughed.

Sakura brought the tip of the glass to her lips and tipped her head backwards. She drank it. Her face matched the bitter taste that the liquid left in her mouth.

"It's really strong…" she said, smacking her lips to the unfamiliar taste.

But it was a funny feeling. For a split second she had been enamored and the taste and had forgotten about everything else. Reflexively, she held out the cup as to ask for another shot. Tsunade's smile indicated her amusement.

"Hey now, I said I'd let you have a little. I can't have you getting drunk!"

Despite her words, she filled the small glass yet again. As soon as she stopped pouring, Sakura tipped her head and downed it all in one gulp. She closed her eyes and slammed the cup down on the desk, shaking her head at the sensation while omitting a satisfied "aahhhhhh".

Sakura opened her eyes and smiled at Tsunade.

"I always looked down on you for drinking so much, but now I understand…"

"Idiot," replied her teacher, "drinking is bad for you."

The two remained quiet for some time. Only the sound of Tsunade's scribbling pen could be heard in the room. Sakura felt at ease here. Everyone else who knew about Naruto had gone out to save him. Tsunade was the only one she could talk to. But sitting here while Naruto and Sasuke were out there wasn't what she wanted. Even in their earlier days, those two had done most of the work and always had to look after her. She never realized that even though it was them who had always supported her, they were the ones who needed to be cared for. Naruto left to find Sasuke, yet she stayed here. Sasuke is off trying to save Naruto, and yet she stayed to cry and drink sake. She had no idea what happened between them out there or what caused Sasuke to change his mind. They did so many things for her and risked their lives for what they believed in. She never did anything for them, and now all she could do was wait until they came back.

"To be honest, it might be a little hard getting those two back in the village," said Tsunade.

"Why is that?"

"Naruto's been gone for three years. Many people believe that he's dead. When they find out that he's alive, they're going to question why he never came back. His excuse of going after Sasuke, although you and I accept it fully, won't be so readily accepted by the townspeople or the elders. They're not particularly fond of Naruto, considering his past. On the other hand there's Sasuke, who ran off to train with a much hated S-rank criminal."

Sakura raised her voice at Tsunade.

"Don't tell me things like that!"

"I'm just preparing you for what's to come. Even if we don't like it, that's how it is."

Sakura sighed. She held out the glass that Tsunade had given her once more. Smiling, Tsunade filled it. The two girls watched as the small cup was filled to the brim.

"This is your last one until you're old enough, so enjoy it."

Her mind on Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura brought it to her lips.

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"There are two people dead ahead," notified Kakashi's tracker dog, "and they're not moving."

"Just as I thought, they're planning something. Everyone, be on your guard!"

Suki, Akiko, and Sasuke nodded and scanned the environment, becoming more aware of their surroundings.

"How far away are they?" Kakashi asked.

"Close, about fifteen minutes."

"How far is the one holding Naruto?"

"From the faintness of his smell, I'd say three to four hours at best, although we've been steadily catching up with him."

There was definitely something wrong with that. From the time Yamato and the others took to heal themselves and report to the village, Akatsuki had plenty of time to establish at least a day's head start. For the next fifteen minutes, Kakashi thought out many possible attack and defense scenarios. After fifteen minutes passed, the dog spoke once again.

"They're here somewhere, the scent is really strong."

Kisame and Itachi jumped out and landed in front of them. Their blazon tactics made Kakashi worry. He had thought they would have ambushed them, but they just jumped out and announced themselves.

"This is all they sent after us?" said Itachi, "I'm insulted."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. His brother stood not 20 yards away.

"What's with that face, Sasuke?" asked Itachi, "aren't you glad to see your older brother after all this time? How about a hug?"

"Sasuke, wait!" Kakashi called, although he doubted the boy would listen.

Kisame laughed.

"Did you really think we would just jump out and attack like this? There's a reason we led you to this spot!"

Kisame started his hand signs. Kakashi and the others didn't have very much time to react.

"Suiton! Oonami Bakuha!" (Water element: Surge Explosion)

The ground began to rumble beneath their feet. Kakashi realized what was happeneing a second too late.

"Everyone, jump out of-"

Water burst out of the ground all around them, shooting up with the force of a geyser. The group was thrown high into the air in all directions. Kisame lowered his chakra level, and the huge geyser-like wall of water receded back into the earth. Both he and Itachi stood at the edge of the huge crater in the ground that had just been made. The victims of Kisame's jutsu were scattered and seemingly unconscious. Suki had landed on her head and hit the ground hard. Akiko seemed to have injured her spine and couldn't move. However, Sasuke and Kakshi slowly rose to their feet. Bloody but not down for the count, they prepared for a fight. Kakashi knew they couldn't beat the two Akatsuki like this. Itachi knew as well.

"Like I said," the older Uchiha told them, "we led you here for a reason. This is…or was…a large underground reservoir. All we had to do was get you to stand right over it."

Sasuke couldn't hold himself back any longer. He had to fight his brother.

"Kakashi, you take the ugly blue one. Itachi is mine."

Sasuke had his eyes set on Itachi. Kakashi sighed at the Uchiha's rashness. He looked into the unforgiving red eyes of Sasuke, and then into the relentless red eyes of Itachi. He pulled out the dog whistle from his pocket and blew it.

"_Yamato…hurry."_

That was his last thought before lifting up his forehead protector and revealing his own red eye. In this world, there were three people who could use the kekkei genkai sharingan. By the time this day was over, there was going to be less.


	19. Deceit

Hey there. Hope everything is going well. So here is the next chapter. Yeah, last chapter was kinda rushed because I just wanted to get something out there after a while of not updating. I guess you could say that this one was more thought out and hopefully I've brought the story back up to par for those of you who were slightly disappointed last time. Ok, I'm done talking. You can read now.

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As the afternoon passed, the Hokage's office gradually darkened as the sun disappeared at the world's edge. Only a few of its golden rays were left, scattering patches of light across the land, and the sky seemed to be a painting; the visual epitome of serenity and calmness. However, the peaceful orange sky did not match with what Tsunade was feeling inside. Until Naruto was standing in front of her with his grin that filled her heart, she wouldn't be able to relax. She was old enough to be considered his mother, and she liked to think that Naruto saw her as such. But she saw him as many things: a son, a brother, a friend, a comrade, an inspiration. He was the reason why she had become the Fifth Hokage in the first place. Naruto helped her remember values that she had forgotten and emotions that had been locked away for years. He was definitely one of a kind. In his childhood, he had learned just how important friendships can be, and his personality tended to bring out the best in everyone around him.

Tsunade looked out at the retreating sunlight.

"I believe in you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Then she glanced over at her apprentice who was sleeping soundly nearby.

"She trusts you with all her heart. She knows that you would die before letting her down. You have people who expect great things from you now. Don't be stupid and disappoint us, kid."

As Tsunade watched Sakura, she could hear the girl murmuring in her sleep.

"Sasuke…Naruto…"

A sigh left the Sannin's lips, and she laid her jacket on Sakura for warmth and for comfort.

In another, more secretive area of Konoha, a meeting between two power hungry individuals was taking place.

"If you don't mind me asking, Danzou-san, why do you wear those bandages on your face?"

Danzou stared at the man sitting across from him.

"My face was scarred and severely deformed sixteen years ago, when the nine tailed fox attacked Konoha."

"Ah…so that's why you despise Naruto-kun. I could tell just by looking at you that you hate him a lot."

After saying this, Kabuto smiled at Danzou, but the old man's eyes narrowed.

"Despise? Hate? These words don't even scratch the surface of how I feel. The kyuubi killed my family. It almost destroyed the village I've dedicated my whole life to. Every morning before I cover my face, I look in the mirror to remind myself how much I hate that….that thing."

Kabuto didn't think that the man's face could get any more serious, but he was wrong.

"Don't give that thing the human decency of having a name. The kyuubi is a demon, and it represents everything opposite of what Konoha stands for. In my eyes, that fox is the prime enemy of everything that lives, it is the most evil creature to ever walk this land. Everyone who has allied themselves with the kyuubi is a traitor, including the Hokage and Jiraiya-san."

"Heh…Naruto-kun-"

Kabuto started to say something, but Danzou spit at the ground when he heard the name.

"My apologies," Kabuto corrected, "what I meant to say was that the kyuubi is very unlucky to have someone like you out to get him. You are a respected member of authority in the village he feels connected to. I know how the demon thinks. My plan will not fail."

"My only regret is that I won't be able to kill him myself."

"Don't worry, Danzou-san. I assure you that I'll make him suffer before terminating his existence."

Danzou still had no clue as to what Kabuto's true intentions might be. After he got what he wanted, would he turn his back on this little partnership and attack the village? He had no way of knowing for sure. But the old man knew that his time in this world was growing short, and he wanted to see his dreamed realized before his time was up. That was why he never questioned Kabuto's motives or goals. He would work with the man if it meant the salvation of Konoha. He would work with the devil himself if he had to.

Kabuto needed Danzou because in order for his plan to work, he needed men inside Konoha that weren't loyal to the Hokage. Danzou needed Kabuto so that all the blame would fall on him instead of being traced back to ROOTS. If both of them got their way, the Leaf Village would emerge stronger than ever, and Kabuto would escape with the kyuubi. It was regrettable that Kabuto's plan required the sacrifice of civilian lives, but it was something that was necessary for the greater good.

"If Akatsuki gets their way," said the elder man, "we won't have to worry, right?"

Kabuto gave a sly smile.

"They won't be able to kill him."

"What makes you so sure? They were certainly capable of killing Orochimaru."

Kabuto's smile was erased and replaced by a more defensive expression.

"They are trying to take him by force. That simply won't work. That boy has a fighting spirit unlike anything I have ever seen before. He refuses to die. It's almost as if he can't die. That's why we aren't trying to take him by force. We're going to use a different approach."

Danzou continued to surprise Kabuto by making his gaze even more serious. His voice was as firm as ever.

"The kyuubi is not human. Don't call him a 'boy'. I've seen him when he was younger, smiling and laughing as if it had emotions. It made me sick. He's a monster. Don't ever forget that."

"Right," Kabuto said, preventing his glasses from sliding off the tip of his nose, "Well, we both have jobs to do. Let's make sure we're ready when the time comes."

With the meeting at an end, both men turned away from each other. They had a lot to do. They had a lot to accomplish.

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Sasuke. Itachi. Uchiha blood ran through their veins. Uchiha blood was about to be spilled. When they stared at each other, the world around them was a black void. Only they existed. But Sasuke hadn't waited all this time to stare angrily at his brother. He had come here to kill him. He drew his sword and pointed it at Itachi. Itachi extended his hand and signaled for Sasuke to attack, daring his brother to make the first move. But it was Kisame who moved first. He raised Samehada over his head and leapt into the air towards Kakashi. He swung his sword in with a powerful downwards motion, but Kakashi had moved and the sword crushed the soft rock where the copy ninja once stood. Kakashi slipped his kunai from his pouch and ran at his opponent.

"Hah! That pitiful knife against my blade? I'll annihilate you!"

Kakashi dodged another round of attacks, utilizing his sharingan to read Kisame's movements. He saw his opening. As Kisame came in for another attack, he let the sword hit him on purpose. It was a kawarimi, and wooden splinters flew in every direction. Since Samehada was a rather large and heavy sword, hit took some time in-between swings for Kisame to recover. Kakashi was behind him, and with a spinning kick he sent the Akatsuki into the trees, where he chased after him.

Sasuke and Itachi were oblivious to all of this. They were only focused on each other. The kusanagi blade that Sasuke wielded slashed at Itachi from every direction.

"Seneijashu!"

"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

Sasuke sent snakes flying in Itachi's direction, but they were all burnt into ashes.

"So Orochimaru taught you that useless technique? What other useless things did he show you?"

Sasuke was becoming enraged by his brother's taunting. He cut a slit in his own thumb just deep enough to draw blood.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

He summoned a huge snake and perched himself atop its head.

"So you can summon now? But that won't do you any good."

"Shut up! I'll kill you right now!"

Sasuke spread his feet apart for balance as the snake stuck at Itachi with its huge venomous fangs. The snake only got a mouthful of dirt. Itachi had jumped out of the way. But this was what Sasuke had hoped for. Itachi couldn't evade attacks in the air as well as he could on the ground. The younger Uchiha jumped and slashed wildly at Itachi, but was both surprised and furious that his brother was able to dodge every strike, even in midair. He even had to avoid a kick from Itachi that passed inches from his face. When they landed, Itachi had on a cool expression as usual, as if nothing had even happened yet. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Whatever Orochimaru taught you means nothing…"

He paused and moved so fast it was almost like he teleported behind Sasuke.

"Unless you have hatred."

He drove his knee into Sasuke's lower back, bending his body awkwardly. Sasuke's head was forced backwards, and Itachi grabbed it with one hand and slammed him into the ground. He jumped straight up and aimed another fireball at Sasuke, who was so disoriented from the last attack that he barely escaped the technique, and he still received some burns on his arm. He struggled to his feet and found Itachi waiting for him patiently with his back turned.

"You bastard…turning your back on me. Don't underestimate my hatred!"

The chidori chirped loudly, yet Itachi didn't turn around. Sasuke moved in for the kill, and still his brother didn't move. The older brother calmly stood his ground and threw a kunai straight up into the air. Sasuke watched it as he ran. Why would Itachi throw it straight up like that? What was that going to do? While his eyes were on the knife, watching it rise into the air, Itachi turned and punched him in the gut, and then square in the face, indenting Sasuke into the ground.

"You fell for a distraction like that?" Itachi taunted, "you are weak."

Itachi ducked as Kakashi flew out of the trees, soaked with water, obviously a victim of some water technique. Kisame came chasing after him and ran into the trees on the other side.

"The Uchiha are finished."

Itachi was about to end the family feud once and for all, but he suddenly jumped back. Shikamaru's shadow chased after him, but it couldn't reach. The shadow retracted.

Kakashi looked up. Shizune was already busy with the girls. Shikamaru, Temari, stood guarding her, and Yamato walked over to help Kakashi to his feet.

"It's about time," he said.

"Yeah, sorry for the wait," replied Yamato.

Kisame and Itachi jumped back to regroup.

"What's this? Reinforcements?" Kisame asked angrily.

"It seems we're at a disadvantage," said Itachi.

The two Akatsuki tried to go after Shizune to prevent her from healing, but Temari wouldn't let them.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" (Sickle Weasel Technique)

Her summoned little weasel did massive damage to the environment, which was already left deformed from Kisame. Of course, the technique didn't hit Itachi and Kisame, but it forced them to stay at a distance.

"Can we win against eight jonin level ninja?" Kisame asked Itachi.

"There's no going back now. We have to hold them off until Zetsu reaches safety."

Sasuke tried to get to his feet, but his legs buckled underneath him. He sank back down in frustration.

"I have…to kill him!"

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called out, "Shizune will tend to you in a second, so don't do anything stupid."

Shizune had Suki back on her feet and was working to help Akiko. The rest of them stood in front of Shizune, protecting their party healer.

Itachi talked quietly with Kisame as Shizune moved to Sasuke. He reluctantly received her assistance and was able to stand again. All eight of them were up and ready. Kakashi looked back at the two girls from Rakugosha.

"You two go on after Naruto."

He signaled for Pakkun, who was watching everything from a safe distance.

"We'll be more than enough to handle things here. You girls get a head start and go after Naruto."

They nodded and followed the small dog to give chase to Zetsu.

"We won't let them!" yelled Kisame, turning to run after the two girls, but Itachi stopped him.

"Let them go. Zetsu can handle himself, and we can't afford to turn our backs on the people in front of us."

Sasuke walked forward.

"Itachi is mine. Don't get in my way. The five of you should be able to beat Kisame easily and go on to help Naruto."

"Oi, Sasuke."

Kakashi called to him but was talking to everyone.

"We don't take orders from you."

Sasuke pointed the tip of his sword at Itachi again.

"If any of you gets in my way, I'll kill you."

He ran at his brother alone, and once again he was beaten to the point where he couldn't stand. Kakashi sighed.

"Shizune, don't heal him just yet. He'll be a nuisance. Okay then…now that that's over we can fight for real."

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"Ra…men…"

Naruto spoke in his sleep. He was dreaming while being carried on Zetsu's shouler. He was swimming in a huge bowl of ramen.

"Mmm…itadakimasu…"

He was slurping his way to the very bottom. He was drooling all over Zetsu.

"Damn kid…"

But the dream turned into a nightmare. The bowl of ramen turned into the jaws of the nine tailed fox. Instead of biting and swallowing him, the fox's head spit Naruto out. It spoke to him with its booming voice.

**Stop dreaming about ramen and wake up, you dumbass!**

Naruto felt a searing pain. He lifted his shirt and saw that the Fourth Hokage's seal was glowing a dark red. Naruto yelled out in pain. It felt like a hole was being burnt right through him.

He opened his eyes, screaming. His eyes widened when he remembered what had happened to him. Zetsu was startled by the sudden squirming and lost his grip on Naruto.

"You're already awake? But…"

Zetsu didn't finish. He realized he had made a mistake by not considering the fact that his sleeping poison's effects might be shortened because of the kyuubi.

"Oh well. Back to sleep you go."

He threw another small, greenish ball at Naruto, and the boy went back to sleep. But when Zetsu tried to pick him up, he was very surprised. Naruto had replaced himself with a simple tree branch and had very cleverly placed two exploding notes on it. He had seen Sasuke use this technique many times. Zetsu only had a half a second to feel surprised. The explosion went off. The plant-like man was thrown skyward, and Naruto stomped him back down to the earth.

Naruto stood over Zetsu.

"You…tell me. What did you do to my friends after you put me to sleep?"

Zetsu only smiled before his eyes closed. His dark face began to twist in a way that was humanly impossible. The green color was being drained from his skin, and his body began to change shape. Naruto couldn't stop watching. It was amazing, in a freakishly weird sort of way. When it was all over, the corpse he was looking at didn't resemble Zetsu at all. In fact, it was an entirely different person.

"What the hell is going on?"

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Kakashi and the others stood over the two bodies, staring at the unfamiliar faces.

"What kind of trick is this?" Yamato asked, "does that mean we weren't fighting the real Akatsuki?"

Sasuke's rage was about to explode. Itachi had made a fool of him.

"I've heard of this jutsu," said Kakashi, "Somehow, they transfer themselves and take direct control of another person's body. I'm not quite sure how it works, but while we were fighting, the real Kisame and Itachi were somewhere safe, pulling all the strings. I was getting a little suspicious, since I was expecting Itachi to use his Mangekyou sharingan. But now I see that he didn't use it because the body he was in isn't an Uchiha body and would most likely faint if he tried to use it."

"So where are the real ones?" wondered Shizune.

Shikamaru had already realized the terrible situation they were in.

"I dunno, but this was their plan from the beginning. They probably already knew that we separated into two groups and knew they wouldn't be able to beat all of us. They made us waste our chakra fighting these duplicates, which means we're exactly where they want us now. "


	20. Blonde Haired Savior

Yo, hows it goin. The chapter is a little longer than usual. The reason for that is I couldn't really find a good place to stop. The fight might drag on a little, and I even went back and cut out some of the details of the fight to shorten it. There is a little taste of mystery in this one regarding the Uchiha and their connection to the kyuubi and the infamous Uchiha Madara who everyone seems to be talking about these days. There will be more of that stuff unveiled in the future, so I guess that's something to look forward to. Anyway…we made it to Chapter 20. There were people who said they were really looking forward to this chapter, so hopefully you'll like it. Thanks, everyone.

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Naruto looked to his left. He looked to his right. He looked up at the dull sky. The clouds were like shadows moving across the water. Nodding his head, he came up with a conclusion: he didn't have the slightest clue as to where he was.

"What the hell is going on?!" he yelled out into the adolescent night.

He was lost. He didn't know what had happened to his friends. But above all else, he was hungry. The thunderous, deep growling of his stomach was only rivaled by the voice of the nine-tailed fox. Sitting in the dirt, he tried to find a solution for his problem. For all he knew, he could be out in the middle of nowhere, his friends might be hurt, and he could be hundreds of miles away from the nearest restaurant. He didn't even know how long he had been asleep. It may have been an hour; it may have been a day.

He pushed his undying hunger aside. Eating would have to wait. First he had to find everyone and make sure they were ok. He wondered what happened to Sasuke and whether or not he ran off again, but was more worried about Suki and Akiko. If anything happened to those girls…well he didn't even want to think about it. Life without them wouldn't really be a life at all. They were the only ones left from his small, traveling family of six, and he wasn't about to let any harm come to them.

"_Hmmm_…" he thought, "_well, if I just go the opposite direction of where that guy was carrying me, I should be fine_!"

Feeling satisfied with his problem solving, Naruto ran off and hoped for the best.

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"Naruto…he's coming this way!"

Sniffing the air, Pakkun double-checked the scent.

"Yes…I'm sure of it!"

"What does that mean? He escaped?" asked Akiko hopefully.

"Maybe, but we can't assume anything."

The pace quickened, but they could only jump ahead a few strides before three men stood in their path.

"What?"

The two girls stopped short and let out a gasp of confusion at the sight of the trio.

"My, my, what could you girls possibly be doing out here by yourselves?" said Zetsu, who was standing in the middle.

"Looks like they're walking their puppy!" laughed Kisame.

"Yasuka-san, Akiko-san, it's so nice to see you again. How long has it been?"

"Itachi…not nearly long enough!" the mere mention of the name left a bitter taste in Suki's mouth.

Pakkun was quite baffled by Akatsuki's ability to sneak around without his noticing.

"If you are here…then who is fighting with Kakashi? And how was I not able to detect you?" asked the dog, eager for answers.

"It would be useless to tell you now, since you're going to die anyway."

Kisame uncovered his large sword, removing the white cloth that was wrapped around it.

Pakkun held his nose up in the air yet again. Even though they were right in front of him, his nose couldn't pick up the slightest hint of Akatsuki. But he did notice something else.

"Kakashi and the others are on their way! Just hold on until they get here!"

Suki tried to stall for time by dragging out conversation

"You guys are big and bad, aren't you, ganging up on two girls like this?"

"Ganging up?" Kisame's laughter was more like a roar. "It's a fair three on three match!"

"Ummm…forgive me," said the small dog to Suki, "but I'll be cowering over by this tree if you need me."

Itachi had fought these two girls numerous times in the past along with his partner.

"If we finish them before the others get here, our job will be a little bit easier," he told his comrades.

As always, Kisame was the first to unleash an attack.

"Let's play a little game, girls! How long do you think you can last against the three of us?"

Suki looked over at Akiko in worry. They were in for the fight of their lives.

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Kakashi and Yamato were at the head of the group, leading their weary companions into the unknown. There was no turning back now. With Sasuke perhaps as the only exception, all of them were willing to put their lives on the line for Naruto. They had known from the moment they had accepted this mission that either they were going back to the village with Naruto or they weren't going back at all. Kakashi laughed to himself. How he was feeling right now was exactly how Naruto felt about Sasuke.

Yamato felt the same way. He hadn't known Naruto for that long, but already he had grown fond of him. The Captain respected Naruto for his strength. He respected Naruto's philosophy and the way he lived his life. The boy represented everything Konoha stood for: protecting what you believe in at all costs. That kid knew what it meant to truly be strong. Hell, he was only 16 and could probably fight Kakashi or himself evenly. A few more months with that special training of his and he would eventually surpass both of them. After all, Kakashi had bragged from the very beginning that he believed that Naruto would one day surpass the Fourth. None of the jonin had taken Kakashi seriously, but after meeting him, Yamato had no doubt.

Shikamaru felt a certain bond to his childhood friend. They weren't on the same team or anything, but over the years, Naruto had earned his unconditional respect. They had both been called dropouts along with Lee from the year before them, and had the two worst test scores back at the academy. Everyone looked down on Naruto, and ironically Sakura and Sasuke were the ones who disliked him the most. At first, Shikamaru only saw him as a pain. But it all changed during the chuunin exams. During the preliminary fights, Shikamaru had acted like a know-it-all, predicting all of the matches after watching for only a few seconds. He had guessed all of them right; all of them but one. It was then that he realized just how hard Naruto had worked to get to where he was. It was a complete contrast to how Shikamaru did things, but he had learned a lot by just watching him.

Temari owed Naruto a huge favor. When she had first met him, she thought that he was just a little punk who couldn't back up any of his talk. She, along with many other people, had been wrong. He and Sasuke were the only ones Temari had ever seen to stare into the eyes of Shukaku and not show any fear. He had shown the strength to stop the demon raccoon even after Gaara had put himself to sleep. He was even able to help Gaara realize there was more to the world than just killing people. And then, when Akatsuki kidnapped her brother, Naruto was there yet again. He rushed in to help Gaara without caring about his own life. He understood Gaara more than she and Kankuro did, and they were his siblings. She owed him a lot, and she wouldn't be much of a shinobi if she didn't try to pay him back.

Shizune remembered the day that she had first seen the hard-headed, loud, obnoxious boy walk into the bar with Jiraiya. He had an aura of confidence about him and wore a dim-witted smile on his face. When Tsunade had spoken badly about the Third, he had instantly come to his defense. His ravings about becoming Hokage seemed simple-minded and childish, but for some reason they made complete sense. She often found herself worrying and keeping an eye on Naruto, and she had vowed that she would look after him and keep him out of trouble. When the time came, Shizune would happily accept him as Hokage and wanted to be one of the people who carved his face into the mountain.

Sasuke only wished his legs could move faster. He wanted to fight Itachi as soon as possible. He wasn't able to fight on equal terms with his brother last time, but this time he would show Itachi just how much he hated him. But suddenly he thought of Naruto. He brought both of his hands to his head, squeezing and pulling at his hair. This was why he hadn't been able to beat Itachi. He was still thinking about that stupid loser too much. He willed Naruto to the back of his mind.

"_Itachi…Itachi…focus on the man that killed your entire family!"_

But instead, the words Naruto had spoken to him rang out in his mind, as clear as a bell that rung out over the noise of chaos and hatred.

"_Even if you kill Itachi, you'll still hate him."_

"_If you stay with Orochimaru, you'll only find more emptiness"_

"SHUT UP!!" he screamed out loud and emptied all the air in his lungs.

The others turned to look at him, but Sasuke threw them each a dark glance and went on running as if nothing happened.

For their own reasons, they all ran towards Naruto knowing very well that Itachi, Kisame, and Zetsu were waiting for them.

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"Suki!"

Akiko ran to Suki as she fell to the ground, the skin from her shoulder shaved off by Kisame.

"It was more entertaining than I expected, but still kind of boring!" Kisame's toothy grin glinted in the moonlight.

"The fight's not over! I'm still standing!"

Akiko stood in front of Suki's worn body.

"You two didn't do so bad," said Itachi, "you know each other well and you were able to work efficiently as a team. Now that one of you is unable to fight, you'll go down easily. Not that you had any chance of winning in the first place, of course."

Zetsu, with tendrils whipping out of his sleeves, stood in front of Akiko.

"I guess this is the end of the infamous Rakugosha. Humph, you're just a bunch of kids trying to mess around in things too big for you to understand."

He wrapped the vine-like limbs on each of Akiko's arms and legs.

"Tell me, pretty girl? How would you like to have your body ripped to pieces?"

Akiko's pain was apparent on her face, yet she refused to let Zetsu have the pleasure of hearing her scream.

"Tough little thing, aren't you? I will break you in two like a twig!"

He slowly began to pull in separate directions, and Akiko could feel her muscles stretching to the limit. With tears flowing down her eyes, she bit her lip until it bled to keep from screaming.

"Stubborn, eh? I won't kill you until you scream, so why don't you save yourself any more agony and just let it out?"

She felt her shoulders dislocate and her legs pop out from her hips.

"Give it to me! Let me hear your precious scream of pain!"

A large shuriken cut through the tendrils, and it was Zetsu who wailed in pain. Released from his grip, Akiko fell right on top of Suki. Shizune rushed to them, but Kakashi stopped her.

"I'm sorry you two, but we might need Shizune-san to use her chakra for fighting. You'll have to wait until after the fight is done to get healed. Sorry, but you'll just have to deal with the pain for now."

Yamato carefully lifted the girls and set them down where they would be safe.

Kakashi looked over at Zetsu.

"You're here too? Then who's with Naruto?"

"You don't need to worry about him. He'll be fine until we start the extraction."

Itachi didn't want them to know that Naruto had woken up and destroyed the body that Zetsu was controlling.

"Instead, you might want to worry about how you're going to survive!"

Kisame, for the third time, was the first to unleash an attack and lunged at Shikamaru. Temari came to his aide and swung her large fan, blowing Kisame off balance.

The two ANBU members had already told the group beforehand who would be best matched with the three. Remembering their instructions, Temari and Shikamaru faced Kisame, Yamato and Sasuke (who had refused to fight anyone else) were paired against Itachi, and Kakashi decided that it would be best if he and Shizune fought Zetsu. It was six on two, but the Akatsuki were almost one hundred percent while the team from Konoha had already had a grueling fight.

"My weak little brother…the unworthy man who received the bloodline limit of my family…are you both ready to die here?"

Sasuke responded by making hand signs. He would show Itachi how strongly the fire of hatred burned within him.

"Katon! Akuma Reikon no jutsu! (Fire Element: Demon Soul technique)

The red aura that surrounded Sasuke was so dark it was almost black. His eyes were completely whited out. The swirling energies looked as if they had possessed him. The shadowy light that shot from Sasuke's mouth reminded Shizune of something that she had seen only in her most gruesome nightmares. But although everyone else was amazed, Itachi watched as if nothing special was happening. He just stood there as the fiery technique hit him. When the hellish glow stopped, Itachi was still standing, and Sasuke, his skin a dark tan and two hand-like wings sprouting from his back, fell to his knees.

Itachi was left with only a few minor burns.

"The fact that you know that jutsu means that you thoroughly read the Uchiha scrolls in the hidden chamber."

Only Sasuke and the two other Akatsuki knew what Itachi was talking about. It was the secret of the Uchiha clan.

"When you use that technique, you open your body to h_im_ and become _his_ vessel. As _his _medium in this world, _he_ feeds off of your hatred and lust for power and revenge. The strength of that attack is based on the strength of your feelings. Your attack was pathetic. It gave me a blister."

Sasuke meant to make his voice stronger, but it came out softly.

"But…I do hate you…so much…"

"Foolish brother, ever since your talk with Naruto-kun and Orochimaru's death, you've been doubting your mission. You're confused and not sure what to believe anymore. That is why your attack left me with hardly a scratch. Now look at you. Orochimaru's curse mark has taken over and you can hardly move."

Kakashi shook his head. Sasuke had tried something drastic and now the team was one member short. That's what happened when a group didn't cooperate as a unit. He had taught that to Sasuke years ago, but apparently his pupil had forgotten all about it.

"Yamato-taichou, we should switch places. Someone with the sharingan is will be more prepared to combat Itachi."

"At this point, I don't think that would matter," said Yamato honestly.

He was right. Neither of them could beat Itachi in such a worn out state.

"I'll be fine, so hurry up and beat that leaf guy so you can come help me."

After throwing his kunai at Itachi, he ran in, forming his signs as he went.

"Suiton! Hahoryuu!" (Water Element: Rapid Crasher)

Itachi copied the jutsu and both of them negated each other. The Captain reached out with his arm, using his Mokuton to create a long, wooden extension of spikes that he aimed at Itachi, but he was too quick.

"Not bad, taichou. I don't know how you are able to use the talents of the First, but I can't copy that jutsu. This might be interesting after all."

The one called the Monster of the Hidden Mist lokked disappointed.

"Why do I get these little punks? All they can do is make it windy and move shadows. I want to have a little fun too!"

"Don't look down on a shinobi from Suna," Temari advised him.

"Yeah…she's really scary," mumbled Shikamaru under his breath.

She heard him.

"If you're still alive at the end of this, I'll kill you."

Shikamaru was a good thinker, and Temari was good at analyzing as well. Would their combined minds be able to get them out of this? It was by far the tightest spot Shikamaru had ever been in.

"Suiton! Bakusui Shoha!" (Water Element: Exploding Water Shockwave)

With this jutsu, Kisame spewed forth a flood from his mouth, and it covered the ground until he was ankle deep in water. As if stepping up onto a stool, he stood on top of the water.

"I see," said Shikamaru, always observant, "with that jutsu it's almost as if he has an unlimited supply of water for his jutsu. How troublesome…"

Zetsu stood, waiting for Kakashi and Shizune to do something.

"Go ahead Shizune-san, Yamato might need your help if he gets caught in genjutsu. I'll deal with this guy."

Shizune looked a little hesitant.

"Are you planning on using that?"

"Yeah."

"Don't push yourself."

The medical specialist hurried to help Yamato in his losing effort to fight Itachi.

"You sure are cocky if you think you can take me by yourself."

Kakashi only stared at Zetsu.

"Are you going to stare me to death? Only Itachi can do that."

Straining his sharingan and his body to the limit, a drop of sweat rolled down Kakashi's forehead. The three tomoe sharingan in his eye changed, and Zetsu stared in disbelief.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Itachi's attention immediately changed when he heard Kakashi. The slight distraction allowed Yamato the opportunity he needed to leave a red mark on the man's cheek with his fist.

Zetsu's body felt funny. The sensation began as a slight tingling in his joints, but it soon turned to pain.

"You were going to rip Akiko-san apart, right? Let's see how you like it."

"How are you doing this? Aaaahhhh!"

His arms were slowly dissolving into thin air. Only little pieces were disappearing at first, but then whole chunks of his arms and legs began to fall off.

"This…isn't an illusion…this is really happening!"

Kakashi couldn't handle the extreme stress that the jutsu had on his body any longer, and he crumpled to the floor. Both of Zetsu's arms were completely gone, as well as half of his right leg.

"Look what you did!" Zetsu yelled, "This is gonna take at least a week to grow back, and it hurts like hell, goddamnit!"

Itachi had separated himself from his two attackers long enough to look at the situation. Kakashi's technique lacked the abilities of the real Mangekyou, but he had found a way to use his sharingan in a unique way. Both Zetsu and Kakashi had been taken out of this fight.

Not impressed, Itachi had to turn his attention back to Shizune and Yamato.

As their individual fights dragged on, the team spread out over the battlefield. So far, Temari had been doing most of the work against Kisame; keeping opponents away with her fan was her specialty. But she wasn't able to keep an Akatsuki member away forever.

Kisame was through playing around. His seals were fast and precise.

"Suiton! Suikodan no jutsu!" (Water Element: Water Fang Bullet Technique)

Water projectiles in the form of ravenous sharks shot at the two of them with blinding speed. Temari had to use her strongest wind attack to push the sharks back. Kisame went to start another set of hand signs, but found that he couldn't move his body.

"What?" he cast a sidelong glance at Shikamaru, "how the hell did you get me, kid?"

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head as if it were a chore, forcing Kisame to do the same.

"Water casts a shadow too. Look at the way that shadows bend in liquid…you know what, it'd be too troublesome to explain everything to you. What matters is that you've fallen into my trap."

"Heh…now what are you gonna do, make me mimic your movement? This technique is pretty useless."

"Oh you think so?"

Shikamaru made the fish-man walk over to where Itachi was beating on Yamato and Shizune. He swung Samehada at Itachi.

The Uchiha grinned.

"You're pretty brave to be doing that."

He dodged the sword and threw three kunai at his teammate. He knew that whatever happened to a body that was bound by Kage Mane would happen to the person who was using the technique. It would take more than three knives to take Kisame down, but the same couldn't be said for a mere chuunin. The pain caused by the kunai made Shikamaru's jutsu falter, and Kisame was able to break free. He ran at Shikamaru and sunk his razor sharp teeth into his shoulder. Temari's wind jutsu drove away Kisame too late, and Shikamaru bent down on one knee.

With Shizune, Yamato, and Temari the only ones standing, things weren't looking good at all.

"This is the best Konoha has to offer? This is the best the captain of an ANBU squad and the Hokage's trusted apprentice can do? The village has fallen. When I left the village-"

Itachi's planned out speech on superiority was rudely interrupted.

"Hey!"

Everyone knew the voice well, but they wanted to see him with their own eyes.

"Who the hell did that to Suki and Aki-chan?"

Naruto surveyed the area and saw that everyone was rather beaten up. He noticed Sasuke on the ground. So he hadn't run off, after all.

"I don't know what's going on, but you guys don't have to worry now that Uzumaki Naruto is here! I'll rescue everyone!"

He held out his thumb for everyone to see.

"Dumbass…we're the ones who are supposed to be rescuing you!" called Shikamaru.

"Really? Well you guys aren't doing a very good job, are you?"

Kisame was really mad. He hadn't gotten to kill anyone yet.

"What's with all these interruptions right before we kill someone?"

"It's more dramatic when the hero shows up at the last second!" yelled Naruto.

He jumped down to Suki and Akiko.

"Sorry I'm late. Are you two all right?"

"We'll live," was the response, "what about you?"

"Well, I just woke up not too long ago and found myself lost in the forest. I'm starving. And just now, I found two people that I care a lot about beaten up and in pain, so I'm a little pissed off. You two just stay there, I'll deal with these guys."

"Maki-san…"

"Naruto…"

They called his name at the same time.

"Be careful…"

"Don't worry about me. They can't kill me or else they'll fail their mission."

He called for Shizune and Yamato. "I'll take over the fight from here, so you can heal them now. Please help them feel less pain with any chakra you have left. You need to rest too, taichou."

"What about you?" the Captain argued, "will you fight them by yourself?"

Naruto didn't answer. He went to meet Akatsuki.

"You guys again? I thought you'd have learned your lesson by now."

"And what lesson would that be, Naruto-kun?" asked Itachi.

Naruto stared right into his eyes.

"That you should never mess with my friends, or else I'll kick your ass!"

Itachi's sharingan stared right back. Jonin of the highest class never dared to look him in the eye before.

"I see. You should have learned your lesson by now, as well. If you had just come with us in the first place, we wouldn't have to keep on hurting your friends. Hidan and Kakuzu killed those two brothers that were part of your group, and Takahiro gave his life for you so that you wouldn't be captured by Deidara. Think about it, Naruto-kun. They all died, and it's all your fault."

Tears ran down Naruto's cheek, but his expression has rigid. What Itachi had just said was always lingering in the back of his mind. He brought his hands together to form a seal that he had done hundreds of times.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" (if you need a translation for that, I'll kick you.)


	21. Destiny

How's everyone doin? Well, another chapter, another little intro from me. Reading over last chapter I found some spelling errors, which happens quite a lot. I just wanna apologize for not noticing them beforehand and thank you for bearing with me and not going crazy with "FIX YOUR SPELLING, RETARD!" comments. 'Preciate that. Okay, that'll be all from me today, so until next time…

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He had been known as a monster. They had called him a demon. He may as well have been a demon; he lived in a dark hell. They stared at him with cold eyes, they ignored his very existence. He had hated the villagers and wished all of his pain upon them. Why did only he alone have to feel so much pain? The way Naruto was going back then, he would have ended up just like Gaara, making other people suffer and killing to feel alive.

But something happened. He met someone who looked at him without hatred, someone who didn't stare right through him as if he weren't there. When Naruto was with Iruka-sensei, he didn't feel worthless. The day that Mizuki had revealed that Naruto had the kyuubi sealed within him, his young mind was delicate and confused. But Iruka had defended Naruto and let him know that he was not responsible for his parent's death; that he was not a demon. That was the moment when Naruto had learned the true strength and importance of bonds with other people. Soon after that came Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi and Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune, Team Gai and the rest of the rookie nine, and Gaara. Then there was Sato and Baine, Takahiro and Akiko, and of course, Suki. He had made it his duty to protect his friends, he had made it his nindo to never abandon them, never go back on his word, and never back down from anyone. When he was still a boy, he had made it his goal to become Hokage. If these things weren't worth dying for, Naruto didn't know what was.

He stood in front of Akatsuki now, prepared to fight for everything he believed was worth fighting for. Two S-class ninja were his opponents, but he wouldn't run away. He couldn't; he didn't know how to. Five kage bunshin's stood around him, ready to attack.

Itachi, after many fights with Rakugosha, had learned not to take the Naruto's talent lightly. He could take his opponents by surprise when they least expected it: that was the ex-prankster's greatest ability. Even someone like Itachi who had the sharingan had to be careful not to get caught up in all of Naruto's shadow clone tricks.

The man who had at one time been considered the pride of the Uchiha clan was ready to finally take in the jinchuuriki that had been assigned to him.

"Zetsu's poison must have had some side-effects, Naruto-kun. You're delusional. You and your little group have never been able to defeat us, so what makes you think that you can do it by yourself?"

Naruto brought his fist to his chest.

"My friends…they give me strength. Aki-chan and Suki may not look like they're doing much right now, but they're always with me, giving me strength. The others, Takahiro, Baine, Sato, their memory gives me tremendous power."

He extended his arm and his fist out in front of him.

"I won't lose here. It's true that the two of you can overpower any ninja no matter how strong he is. But I'm not fighting alone. I'm never alone, not anymore."

He looked over at Sasuke who was still trying desperately to control his chakra and the curse mark.

"_Did you hear that, Sasuke?"_ Naruto thought, "_I know you know exactly how I'm feeling right now…"_

(flashback)

The sand shuriken from Gaara's Shukaku body pummeled Naruto through the trees. Helpless to do anything, Sasuke watched as his team mate was repeatedly hit with wave after wave of sand. But each time, the loud mouthed boy in the orange clothes got back to his feet.

"Damn it!"

Sasuke could hear him cursing.

"Damn it!"

Even Gaara was surprised that Naruto had gotten up. At this point, Sasuke had no clue what his friend was thinking.

"_What is this feeling gushing out of me? I don't know why, but_ _I don't want to lose to this guy even if I have to die_!"

(end flashback)

"Watch closely, Sasuke!" Naruto called out. "I'll help you remember what it's like!"

"Enough talking! I'll crush you!"

The water under Kisame rose up into a giant wave, and he rode on the top of it by concentrating his chakra into his feet. The wave came crashing down, defeating the five clones, and Kisame tore through the real Naruto with his sizeable sword. Rather, he tore through what he thought was the real Naruto. All six of them had been clones, and Kisame jumped back to Itachi's side in disappointment.

"So, it was a clone from the beginning, eh?"

"That's right!"

Naruto's voice surrounded them. Shadow clones ran at them from every direction. There were hundreds and hundreds of them…thousands of them.

Surfing on the water's surface as he had before, Kisame weaved in and out of the clones, slashing at them wherever he went. Itachi stayed away from the clones while burning through twenty or thirty of them at a time with his fire. The Naruto clones threw shuriken at Kisame, and no matter where he went, the outlawed criminal had no chance to dodge the five hundred projectiles that were coming his way. But the Kisame that was hit turned out to be a water clone, and five more of them leapt out of the water and took out a few more shadow clones before they too were destroyed. Kisame, hidden underneath the water, focused his chakra into hand signs and used the same jutsu he had performed on Kakashi and the others.

"Suiton! Oonami Bakuha!" (Water Element: Surge Explosion)

The mass shadow clones that were caught in the blast were puffed away, leaving only a small, manageable amount of them standing. Itachi turned to deal with the rest of the clones.

That's when Naruto came charging in on a great toad's back. He threw two kunai at Kisame, but he easily dodged. Another water clone jumped out of the water and got a hold of Naruto.

"Suirou no jutsu!" (Aqua Prison)

As the trap surrounded Naruto, the henge was dispelled and the small toad known as Gamakichi swam happily in the small orb of water. Meanwhile, the large frog transformed back into Naruto. He came at Kisame with a punch that the larger man caught in his hand. Like an acrobat, he cart wheeled and aimed a kick at Kisame's head, but his foot was also stopped by the elbow of the swordsman's katana hand. Naruto grinned. He had distracted Kisame and now that both of his hands were full, it was time to attack.

The two kunai that he had thrown were actually two clones in henge, and now they had returned to their normal forms. One of them quickly formed the Rasengan in the other's hand. Kisame tried to move, but Naruto held him in place.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling sphere made contact with its target, leaving a circular mark on his blue skin and sending him flying back.

Yamato was even more impressed.

"To be able to maintain so many clones and transformations at once…that boy is really something else. Guess he didn't need my help after all…"

Kisame's aqua prison was undone, and Gamakichi hopped playfully onto Naruto's head.

"Those were some nice moves, squirt!" said the small amphibian.

"Hey, don't call someone bigger than you 'squirt!'"

"Don't be mean to me, squirt!" called the frog, "or Oya-jii will squash you!"

Kisame was on his hands and knees. He belted out a roar of frustration.

"You….you fucker…I HATE SHADOW CLONES!"

Itachi seemed unfazed, and he spoke in his usual voice of unconcern.

"Zetsu, Kisame, we should leave. Both of you are seriously injured, and we've all exhausted our chakra since we've been fighting for quite a while now."

Naruto wasn't about to let them escape, but using all of those techniques in succession had taken a lot of chakra, especially with the vast number of shadow clones he had created. But he had one more trick up his sleeve. He began to breathe heavily, over-emphasizing his fatigue.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

A single clone appeared.

"Only one, Naruto-kun? You were foolish and tired yourself out already?"

"What are you talking about? This one clone is more than enough to take care of you. Right, Naruto?" he asked his own clone, patting him on the back.

"That's right!" the clone answered and ran to Itachi.

Itachi wasn't stupid. He knew there was more to this attack than just a single clone. But what has Naruto up to? Did Naruto want him to dodge the clone or destroy it? He decided to bypass the clone and get the real Naruto. His first punch missed, but he managen to lay a single finger on Naruto's shoulder. That was all he needed. It looked like the boy had fallen asleep standing up. The clone exploded.

"Kamikaze Kage Bunshin? You put an explosive on him when you patted it on the back. Shame on you, Naruto-kun, did you really think that would work on me?"

Naruto was trapped in Itachi's world. He was standing in the middle of a circle of people. He recognized them easily.

"Kitsune," Takahiro's voice echoed in the small universe, "if I never met you, I'd still be alive. Why did you make me come with you?"

"It's your fault we died," the two brothers said in unison, "why did you kill us?"

Akiko was there as well. "We were happy together, right, Maki-san? Why couldn't we just settle down and be a family together? Why did you have to drag us around on your little quest to save your friend?"

Suki picked up where Akiko left off. "Do our lives mean nothing to you compared to your best friend Sasuke? You were willing to sacrifice Takahiro, Baine, and Sato to save him. Are you willing to sacrifice my life too?"

Naruto was standing next to himself and the graves of his five friends were in front of him. Sasuke was at his side.

"It must be hard for you, Naruto."

"Not really. You came back to Konoha and that's all that matters. Your life is much more important than theirs."

Back in reality, tears were squeezing through Naruto's closed eyes.

Temari and Yamato stood up again. It looked like they would have to fight some more. They were about to advance on Itachi, but an arm reached out and blocked their path. It was Sasuke. Gaining control of the curse mark, he was ready for another go with his brother. Itachi smiled and tossed Naruto aside.

"I may not have much chakra left, but neither do you. Are you sure you want to face me alone, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto. The emotion he was feeling right now…he didn't know what it was. But there was something he could vaguely remember as if it were a dream he had had a long time ago.

(flashback)

"Oi, Naruto. You'd better save Sakura no matter what. And once you rescue her, take her and run. You can do it."

Sasuke began to rise to his feet. The psychotic Gaara was a menacing sight.

"Sasuke…are you…"

"I can buy you some time. If it ends here, it will mean that I was only capable of making it this far. I have already lost everything once. I never want to see an important friend die in front of me again."

(end flashback)

Was that what this was? That day…it felt like a lifetime ago. He had seen the bodies of his clan littered in the streets. He had seen his mother and father's corpses. He never wanted to have to see anything like that happen again. If he lost here, Itachi would take off with Naruto. Something deep inside of Sasuke's gut told him to do everything in his power to stop that from happening. Something was telling him to protect Naruto at all costs. Naruto was…was…

Naruto IS his friend.

Coming to this sudden revelation, Sasuke drew his sword.

"You're not taking him anywhere."

His voice was strong, and sincere. Itachi had killed their mom and dad, slaughtered their family and friends, and left Sasuke alive. He had taken everything. Sasuke remembered the dark loneliness, the hatred that he lost himself in. He had pushed all of the other kids away, jealous of their loving families and the bonds of love that they shared. He thought of himself as superior to them. In his own empty world, that was the only thought he could cling onto. If he wasn't strong, he would never beat Itachi, and so he told himself over and over again that he was the best, and he strove for perfection. He was a genius, called a child prodigy, but always felt a step behind his brother, who had activated the sharingan at an unprecedented age. But then Sasuke met Naruto, a boy who had no parents or family whatsoever. In his heart, Sasuke was eager to get to know him because he also understood loneliness. Both of them, longing for a friend, would never admit a connection.

Naruto, who had never been given attention his entire life, was jealous of Sasuke because everyone seemed to admire him. At that time, Sasuke was still bent on revenge and was hesitant to get close to anyone. That's how their rivalry began.

His mind was a terrible mess, but Sasuke knew one thing for sure: just like when Gaara turned into the Shukaku, and just like when Sasuke had stepped in front of Haku's needles, saving Naruto was more important than revenge.

"If you think you can stop me, little brother, come."

Sasuke did as his brother asked.

"Katon! Ryuka no jutsu!" (Fire Element: Dragon Flame Technique)

We the attack missed, Sasuke made a new set of hand signs.

"Katon! Housenka!" (Fire Element: Mythical Fire Flower)

Multiple fireballs hurtled at Itachi, who used a Doton to hide himself underground. Sasuke jumped into the air and threw several exploding kunai into the ground. The blasts ripped the ground apart and revealed Itachi's hiding spot.

"Seneijashu!"

Sasuke shouted as two snakes shot out and took a hold of his older brother by biting him in the arms. When he landed, Sasuke pulled Itachi towards him and drove the kusanagi straight through his body. However, after a second he realized that his sword had pierced a wooden log. But Sasuke had expected this. When Itachi came in for an attack from behind, Sasuke released the wire he was holding in his teeth and pulled the rest of the wires forward. They came up out of the ground and entangled him. Before Itachi could reach him, he was tied up in the trap Sasuke had set for him.

"Wires? When did you set these?"

"When I threw those kunai, the wires were attached to them."

Their eyes met. Sasuke's sharingan was just as highly developed as Itachi's. The only genjutsu that would work on Sasuke was the Mangekyou, and if Itachi used that now, it wouldn't do him any good. He was already almost out of chakra, and even if he did take out Sasuke, Yamato and Temari could still fight. For the first time in a long time, Itachi was panicking. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught. When he had fought Sasuke earlier, his moves were predictable, easy to counter, and not very well thought out. He only seemed to be using techniques that would cause the most destruction. But just now, Sasuke had actually thought ahead and outsmarted Itachi. What was different?

"Those eyes…is that how our father's looked before you killed him, Itachi?"

Itachi said nothing. He hadn't expected to lose here. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught. Not able to do much of anything, the other two Akatsuki were surprised as well.

"I surprise in them. Yes, our father was probably very surprised. I see uncertainty. I see fear. This is exactly how I wanted to see you, Uchiha Itachi."

The chirping of Chidori rang true.

Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Naruto. Yamato had dispelled the genjutsu from him. He searched Sasuke's eyes.

"Wait, Sasuke. Before you kill him, you need to tell me…are you only doing this for revenge? Because if you are..."

Sasuke spoke over him.

"Itachi…you and I have the same last name. We share the same blood. Even so, you are not my brother. Brotherhood goes deeper than blood or name. There is another person who I am proud to call my brother now."

He looked back at Naruto, who withdrew his hand and stepped back

Itachi was still speechless. He could only wait until Sasuke chose to give him death.

"I don't know why you did it," Sasuke continued, "and I don't know why you left me alive. All I know is that you are about to get what you deserve. You ruined my life. I won't let you ruin any others."

He walked right up to Itachi and whispered in his ear.

"Do you know why I was able to beat you, foolish brother? I finally freed myself from my……hatred"

Sasuke pulled his hand back. Itachi's sharingan watched as the chidori moved closer and closer. It was right in front of him, and he couldn't do a thing. With the might of his entire family poured into his chakra, Sasuke slammed the Chidori right into Itachi's face. It exploded like an egg in a microwave. The headless corpse fell to the ground, his spattered blood glowing in the moonlight.

"Itachi!" Kisame yelled for his partner.

"No way…" whispered Zetsu to himself.

Gathering around, the team from Konoha (those that were able to walk) formed a circle to gaze at the gruesome sight.

S-class criminal. Murderer of his family. Member of Akatsuki. Hunter of jinchuuriki. A genius unlike anything the shinobi world had ever seen. Master of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Uchiha Itachi was dead.

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So uhh…whaddya think? Not really an "epic battle" between the two brothers but…take into account their lack of chakra and Itachi's extreme overconfidence. Hopefully none of you will yell at me for killing off Itachi like this or Sasuke's somewhat sudden turnaround :) I'm pretty apprehensive for the reviews I'll receive for this chapter much like I was for the reviews when Orochimaru died. And also sorry for the wait, I've been busy. Actually, that's a lie, I've been lazy. Ok, you can bash the chapter all you want now, I've prepared myself for the worst… :D But c'mon, any chapter where Itachi's head explodes is a good one, no?

Heh, later.

-King of Slackers


	22. Slight Intermission

Yo. Not much action here, since the last few chapters has been mostly all fighting. This is just the aftermath of the battle, nothing else. You probably won't be falling off your chair in excitement, in fact, you might fall asleep : )

Thanks for reading. Here's chapter 22.

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"So," asked Naruto, "how do you feel?"

He and Sasuke faced each other, unaware of all the commotion going on around them. Kisame and Zetsu were struggling as best they could against the Konoha shinobi, but they were helpless and easily subdued into captivity.

Their eyes spoke a million words; relayed a dozen conversations back and forth. The moon's faint glare tinged a bit of a twinkle to Naruto's deep blue and Sasuke's endless black, the bonfire they had made of Itachi's body also added to the effect.

"I…I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. I didn't kill for revenge, and surprisingly I feel…"

His thoughts faded. Words could not describe what he was feeling inside. His brother was dead. It would usually be an odd thing to be happy about for most people, but in Sasuke's case, this was the happiest day of his life. And it wasn't because he had finally extracted his revenge; it was because he had stopped an evil man. It was because he had finally found himself again after being shrouded in darkness for so long. It was because he had a friend that would have his back and follow him into Hell itself.

Naruto wore his famous grin, the one that stretched from ear to ear as he looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha, though drowning in happiness and respect for Naruto, wore his signature neutral expression.

"What are you grinning at, loser? I'm not gonna give you a hug if that's what you want."

Naruto chuckled and reached into his bag. He pulled something out and threw it Sasuke. The boy caught it, and his eyes immediately grew wider. Looking down at the object, he ran his thumb over the spiral design and traced the triangular shape of the Leaf Village symbol.

"You kept this?" he asked, looking up from his old headband.

"I figured you might need it again one day."

"Naruto…I'm not even sure if I'm ready, or even if they'll let me back in at all."

"What are you talking about? You have to go back! I made a promise to Sakura-chan! You should know by now that I'll take you back to Konoha by force if I have to!"

Sasuke stood up straighter and lifted his chin.

"Hmph…I doubt that you could."

"You got some nerve…you're back to you're old self and you're already pissing me off!" shouted Naruto, his fist in the air.

"Who do you think just saved you from Itachi, loser?"

"You woulda been long dead if I hadn't come along!"

"Don't forget that I could have killed you back at the bridge."

"Don't you remember, Sasuke? Orochimaru had to save you from me!"

"ENOUGH!" Shizune yelled. It was loud enough to ring in the two boys' ears and make them flinch.

They turned and faced her.

"I'd hate to break your touching reunion, but we'd better get back to Konoha right away. Suki and Akiko-san are fine now and only need rest, but Kakashi-san is in bad shape. There's no way I can treat him by myself, even if I had all my chakra."

The two girls, now healed, stood on either side of Naruto. They nodded to him.

"You guys go on ahead. Get Kakashi-sensei to Granny Tsunade."

"Ah…" realized Shikamaru, "you three are heading to Suna?"

Suki nodded. "That's right. We never got to say a proper farewell to Takahiro-kun."

Naruto saw the expressions on Yamato and Shizune's faces.

"Don't worry. We'll go back to Konoha and report in to the Old Lady once we're done," he reassured them.

Everyone turned to Sasuke, eager to hear what he was going to say.

"I…think I'll go with Naruto. I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back yet. And there's no way I'd even consider stepping foot in that village again if Naruto isn't there."

Yamato carried a tied up Kisame and his huge blade, and Shikamaru hauled an unconscious Zetsu on his back. Shizune and Temari held up Kakashi's weak body.

"Don't make Tsunade-sama wait too long, you two. She's been waiting for your return together for a long time. And so has Sakura," Shizune told them.

"Let's take it one step at a time," suggested Yamato. "We're not asking you to stay, Sasuke. Just drop by for a while and you can think things over."

"We'll see you guys soon. Shizune, tell Sakura sorry, but she'll have to wait just a little longer…again."

She nodded at Naruto's words and ran off with the others to put Kakashi in a hospital bed and their Akatsuki prisoners in an interrogation room. Blending with the twisted shadows of the aged night, they disappeared into the darkness.

Naruto walked in a small circle, surveying the damage that had been done to the landscape. The cremating corpse of Itachi crackled and raged on, turning any remains of the man into dust. He stretched his arms and hung them around the necks of Suki and Akiko.

"Well, these past two weeks has been pretty crazy!"

He almost fell forward, just now realizing how tired he was.

"Baka-kun, you need your rest too!"

"No, no, I'm fine," he told a worried Suki.

All three of them looked over at Sasuke.

"I uhh…I guess I owe you guys an apology," he said.

"You don't need to say anything, Sasuke," said Naruto. "In a way, I owe you a huge favor."

Sasuke raised one eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't left, I wouldn't have met these two!" He smiled at the girls and ruffled their hair.

"Hey! Don't treat me like a kid. I'm older than you, you know!" Akiko complained.

Naruto opened his mouth to tease her about her height, but she silenced him with murderous eyes.

Sasuke's lips curved upward ever so slightly. He had gotten stronger, he had matured, and he had made a new set of friends, but he was still the same old Naruto.

"Well, there's no use standing around and wasting time, let's get going, Suki, Aki-chan…Sasuke."

Sasuke took on last look at the burning body. As Itachi's remains scattered with the wind, an overwhelming feeling swept over him. It was finally over. He was free now, free to do whatever he chose. And the momnet, he chose to follow Naruto.

They traveled at a slow pace, the effects of the last fight still very much a factor. The two girls had fallen back, giving the two old friends some privacy. Hints of the orange sun traced the outline of the mountains to the east.

Sasuke broke the silence.

"Looks like you have a whole new life now, Naruto."

"Yeah. They're great, those two," said Naruto, looking back at the girls that had been through so much with him.

"What will you do now?"'

Naruto was still looking back at them, which drew a questioning frown from Suki. He smiled at her.

"We've been traveling around for a long time, chasing after you. We've seen our share of good things, as well as bad. I think we're ready to finally settle down. It'll be a nice change for us."

"Don't Akiko-san and Yasuka-san have homes too?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto laughed.

"Yasuka-san? What's with that?"

"Uhh…that's what she told me to call her…"

"Heh…did she? Well, that was when you were being an evil bastard. Actually, she hates her name, that's why she has us call her Suki."

"I…think I'll wait to get permission from her…"said Sasuke, eyeing the girl warily.

"What are you two idiots looking at, always glancing back here?" she shouted, annoyed that she didn't know what they were talking about.

The two boys looked at each other.

"Good idea," said Naruto, "You don't know the meaning of fear until you find yourself on Suki's bad side. Aki-chan is the same. I swear, those two are twins, they're so alike."

The silence crept in once again, but it was Naruto who broke it this time.

"Sasuke…"

He didn't turn to look at his friend this time.

"You should…try to…with Sakura-chan…make it work…"

Sasuke nodded. He knew how Naruto felt and decided it was best not to answer. But there was something Naruto had to know, something that meant more to him than anything else.

"She loves you. You…love her too, don't you?"

There it was; the million dollar question. An awkward pause followed. Naruto awaited an answer while Sasuke searched his soul for a response.

"Yes…I do. Back then…all I wanted was revenge. I pushed away everyone that was close to me. But you two…no matter how hard I tried to keep you shut out, you were always there. And Sakura…I realized too late that I-"

"Shut up…" Naruto cut him off, "Tell that to Sakura-chan, not me."

Sasuke nodded as he slowly hung his head.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

"I don't need you feeling sorry for me."

The sun was peeking over the mountaintops now, sheltering the land in its brilliance. As Naruto's eyes spanned the horizon, he thought that he could get lost in its golden embrace.

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Sakura sat in her room in front of the mirror, combing her short hair as she got ready for another day. A nice breeze blew through her open window and gently rippled on her clothes. She stood up and straightened herself, flattening her shirt against her chest and stomach. With a quick glance at the picture of team 7 that sat at her bedside, she headed out into the morning. It had been three days, almost four, since the others had left to chase after Naruto. She hated that she could only pray for his safety.

She hadn't expected many people to be out and about at this time of day, and she was right. There wasn't a person in sight. But when she walked past the north gate on her way to the Hokage's Tower, she noticed a small congregation of people gathered around. The white, spiky hair that she saw sticking up over the crowd was unmistakable. Her heart jumped in anticipation. Before she knew it, she was running. Spectators moved aside for her, and she saw her unconscious sensei, as well as the two Akatsuki. There was a tired looking Shikamaru. Temari was grimacing at every move her sore body made. Shizune looked flushed from using her medical jutsu, and Yamato looked like a combination of all of them. But the two people she had been dying to see were nowhere to be found.

"Sempai…what happened?" she asked frantically, "where are Sasuke-kun and Naruto? Are the okay?"

"They're just fine. They headed off to Suna to pay respects to their fallen comrade."

"We're just fine, by the way, thanks," came Shikamaru's sarcastic voice.

Sakura's face showed both relief and disbelief.

Shizune smiled at her expression.

"Naruto-kun says sorry for keeping you waiting."

"Of course he said that..." Sakura muttered, moving to help her fellow shinobi.

"Come on, Sakura, we need to get Kakashi to the hospital. I'll fill you in on what happened on the way. The rest of you take those two to be locked up. We'll meet at Godaime's office."

They scattered, and Sakura followed Shizune and listened intently to her description of what happened: the trap, the body switching, Naruto's last minute rescue, and Sasuke's defeat of Itachi.

"Orochimaru and Itachi…"

Sakura was amazed by the fact that both of these powerful ninja were dead, and her two team mates had been there to witness it.

"So those two will be back before you know it," Shizune finished as they made it to the hospital.

With the three most talented medical ninja in Konoha, and perhaps the world, tending to Kakashi, he regained his consciousness and mobility. They left him to rest, and now the entire team that had gone off to chase Akatsuki stood in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Yamato-taichou, introduce those two bastards to Morino Ibiki and the rest of the interrogation unit."

"It would be my pleasure," he smirked and exited the room.

"If that's all for your report, go home. You all need some rest."

They all nodded and walked off, eager for a nice bed and a soft pillow.

"Shishou…"

The apprentice called her master.

"Even though I've been waiting for them all this time, I'm a little nervous. I never imagined that I would be like this…"

"Well then come on, some medical training ought to preoccupy your mind. I'll work you hard today."

"Gee, thanks," Sakura replied, wishing now that she had kept her mouth shut.

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The glowing eyes of Akatsuki's ruthless leader was the only thing Hidan could see in the pitch blackness of the cold chamber.

"Zetsu and Kisame have been taken prisoner, and Itachi is dead."

Whispers of shock could be heard echoing in the room.

"Impossible..." Hidan couldn't imagine someone taking down Itachi Uchiha other than the leader.

"Do you think those two will talk?" asked Kakuzu

"No," came the leader's voice, "I'm not worried about that. But this is very unfortunate...our dwindoling numbers has caused an extreme setback. Without Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu, Sasori, and Deidara, extracting the last two bijuu will be impossible. So I've taken the liberty of recruiting a new member. His name is Tobi."

A shadowy figure appeared at the leader's side.

"I'll worry about the new members for now, the rest of you seek out the seven-tails as planned. Tobi will remain with me until I find him a suitable partner."

"Who took Itachi down?" asked Kakuzu curiously.

"His brother, Uchiha Sasuke, with help from Uzumaki Naruto."

"If they've become that strong," continued Kakuzu, "we'll need more help."

"Leave the matter of new members to me. You two just find that bijuu. I'll supervise the prepartation of the ceremony myself."

"Yes, master."

The pair of Hidan and Kakuzu left the chamber, leaving three Akatsuki members behind.

"Soon, I will have them all. They will be mine, as will this entire world."

All three of them let their hideous laughter loose at these sinister words.

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"What do you mean, we need an appointment? I'm a personal friend of the Kazekage! Let me through!"

Naruto was yelling at the Suna guard. The guard stood his ground.

"If you cause any more disturbance, I'll have to escort you from the premises."

"I'd like to see you try! I'll beat you so bad that-"

"What's going on over here!?"

The man in charge of the Kazekage's personal guard had come. He was attracted by all the commotion.

"This man is trying to get by us without an appointment with Gaara-sama, Kankuro-san," explained the guard.

"Eh? Kankuro?" said Naruto, "Hey, Kankuro, tell this guy to let me pass!"

Seeing Naruto, Kankuro brushed the guard aside.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I came with Rakugosha and Sasuke to visit Hiro, but I told them to go on to the grave without me so I could talk to Gaara."

"Sasuke?" Kankuro was surprised to hear the name. "Does that mean…"

"Yup, I finally knocked some sense into that thick skull of his."

"T-that's great news! Well come on, Gaara isn't busy at all!"

As Naruto passed the guard, he snickered.

The flaming red hair of the kazekage was the only thing Naruto could see as he entered the room. Gaara sat facing the window, looking after his village from above.

"Hey, Gaara, you have a visitor," announced Kankuro.

The chair turned, and Gaara saw Naruto standing in the doorway.

"Naruto! So you're back."

"Yeah…listen, there's something I want to talk to you about in private."

Gaara nodded to Kankuro, who retired from the room.

"What is it?" asked Garra.

Naruto sat down and looked at Gaara with serious intent.

"Akatsuki…"

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Sunagakure's streets were a tad bit narrower than those of the Village hidden in the Leaves, and therefore a little more crowded. Akiko, Suki, and Sasuke made their way to the cemetery where Takahiro had been put to rest. It was a large, fenced area that was situated at the south side of the city. Searching over the graves, they finally found the name they sought: Miyushi Takahiro.

They gathered around the small gravestone. Suki and Akiko decorated the grave with colorful flowers they had bought a local shop. Akiko kneeled down first to say her final goodbye, and Suki followed suit. Sasuke stepped forward and looked down at the small mound of dirt and sand.

"So you're Takahiro…you never met me, and I never had the privilege of meeting you. But…"

Sasuke clutched at his chest.

"I understand. In my heart I will never forget what I felt the moment I opened the door to my parents' room and found them laying on the floor…You knew what I was feeling, and you risked everything to help me and Naruto. Miyushi Takahiro, I thank."

He gave a slight bow to the tombstone, and felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Sasuke. I'm sure it means a lot to him."

Naruto had come with Gaara, and the blonde stood over Takahiro's grave.

"I'm glad you two finally got to meet. Hiro…"

Rakugosha's leader just nodded as his words died.

They spent a few more minutes in the cemetery, and when they were ready, Gaara accompanied them to the entrance of the city to see them off.

"Naruto, everyone, take care. I'll be traveling to Konoha in three days for an audience with the Hokage. We'll be seeing each other soon."

"Bye, Gaara-sama!" called Akiko.

The kazekage frowned.

"No formalities needed. It makes me feel old…"

Akiko giggled. "Well then, bye, Gaara-kun!"

Gaara turned to leave and waved as he walked away. He turned for a brief moment to nod at Naruto, who knowingly nodded back.

Naruto let out a deep breath recuperating from the perilous events of the last few days.

"Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do…" he said, looking at Sasuke.

The last remaining Uchiha clan member looked out to the dusty deserts of the Wind Country and knew that Konoha lay just beyond.

He turned to Rakugosha, who were awaiting his response.

"Let's go home, Naruto," he said finally. "Let's go home."


	23. After Three Years

Hey. So recently, a feller called kazugo made an interesting point regarding Shikamaru and his kagemane when he used it against Kisame in chapter 20. In the Chuunin exams 3rd test prelims, recall that Shikamaru takes out Kin by controlling her body and making her head smash into the wall. Later on when he and Naruto confront Gaara in Lee's hospital room, Shikamaru traps Gaara in his kagemane. When Naruto punches Gaara, Shikamaru complains that whatever happens to the person under his control also happens to him. So why didn't Shikamaru hurt his head in his match against Kin? Anyone care to answer? Anyway, please note that this is not a flaw by me, but by Kishi himself.

Ok then, now that that's out of the way, thanks again for reading. Sorry you have to bear with another actionless chapter…action coming soon, I promise.

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Danzou sat at his table, sipping his small cup of specially made hot tea. He gulped it down, and with each drink he felt his old, tired bones slowly warming up and becoming more limber. He leaned back in his chair and sighed; he didn't get peaceful moments like these to himself very often. As he finished that exact thought, one of the shinobi of ROOTS, an ANBU faction loyal only to him, appeared before Danzou out of thin air.

"This had better be good," the old man said bitterly.

"Excuse my intrusion, Danzou-sama, but you told me to alert you if the scouts saw a group of four people wearing tan cloaks heading towards the village."

Danzou paused for a second before bringing the mug to his lips once again.

"Thank you. You may leave now."

The messenger nodded at disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived.

"So…the demon is on its way. Did you hear that, Kabuto?" His old voice was still strong as it filled the seemingly empty room.

"Of course I did. I do have ears, you know," Kabuto said, emerging from a shadowy corner.

"Then let us commence with the procedure."

Kabuto shook his head.

"There has been a slight change of plans, Danzou-san. The captured Akatsuki that Kakashi-san and the others brought back has presented me with a new opportunity. We'll have to delay our little scheme so that I can take care of personal matters."

The ROOTS commander's frown showed the utmost annoyance.

"How long will it take?"

"Not long. It involves the kyuubi, and I'll need your help."

"Just tell me what has to be done."

"I need access to Zetsu and Kisame. Authorize a ROOTS interrogation unit to question them. I'll pose as one of your ninja and have a little…one on one talk with them."

The old man reached to pour himself more tea.

"I'll make the arrangements."

"Thank you," said Kabuto cheerfully, "that boy is so predictable, it's easy to manipulate his actions. If he's thinking about doing what I think he is, then this operation will be a breeze."

"Just don't take too long. Konoha is ripe for the picking."

Kabuto stopped in the doorway as he left.

"Don't worry, I won't be long. You just make sure everything is ready for the demon's triumphant return home."

Both men laughed. Kabuto walked off, and Danzou cleared his throat before taking another sip at his tea. He was feeling younger and more alive each day. His time was coming.

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"This road…it's been a long time."

Sasuke walked slowly, and the others matched his speed in order to walk beside him. One foot in front of the other; he was taking it one step at a time, the village gates stood small and blurry in the distance.

"Last time I was here, I was walking the opposite way. I told myself not to look back, to only look at my goal ahead. But I couldn't. I looked back, it was actually somewhere right around here…"

Naruto's belly rumbled loudly. He gave a hearty laugh.

"Not to rush you or anything, Sasuke, but could he pick up the pace just a little? I'm starving."

His three companions laughed. Sasuke looked at the girls.

"That's all he knows how to do, isn't it. Eat, sleep, train."

"Yup, that's our Maki-san!" declared Akiko.

"The fearless, terrifying leader of the renowned Rakugosha!" added Suki.

They all shared at laugh at Naruto's expense, and he put a on a cross face.

"Seriously though, I've seen plants that grow faster than this!"

Akiko left a bump on the back of his head.

"Don't worry about him, Sasuke-san. You take your time."

"Aki-chaaaan…" Naruto whined.

"Oh, hush, Baka-kun. If you're really that hungry, go on ahead of us," said Suki.

"But I have to enter the village the same time as Sasuke! It's more dramatic and symbolic that way!"

They all shook their heads. Naruto's stomach groaned even louder. He rubbed it as they walked ever so slowly.

Sasuke showed no sign of speeding up.

"Ichiraku will be the first place we stop, Naruto. Okay?"

"Fine. But since you're the one going slow, you have to pay!"

Sasuke raised his voice.

"What the hell makes you think I have any money?"

"You mean you're broke?"

"Uh…yeah."

"So are we!" the boy cried, "my delicious ramen…"

Suki rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure Tsunade-sama will treat us, so we'll go to see her first."

"You're right!" exclaimed Naruto, his solemn face lightening up, "Granny Hokage will surely treat us!"

They continued to walk in a sloth-like manner. Naruto and Sasuke were silent, but the two girls were chatting away.

"I don't know about you, Kiko, but those hot springs looked really inviting last time."

"You're right. What do you say we all give that place a visit?"

Naruto's expression showed disapproval, and he forced a laugh.

"You two sure about that? Konoha is full of perverted old men like Ero-sannin and Ebisu who peek in on the women's baths all the time."

"Don't forget that you used to do that too," said Sasuke.

Naruto shot him a quick glare, but it didn't last long because two fists came crashing down on his head.

"You used to peek in on girls, Naruto-baka!?"

"Shame on you, Maki-san!"

Naruto got up and backed away from them, his hands held out in front for defense.

"No, no, you got it all wrong! I was just doing…erm…research for my oiroke no jutsu!"

"What about the time you tried to-"

Sasuke was going to say something, but Naruto rushed him and punched him in the forehead hard enough to knock him slightly backwards.

"What the hell, Sasuke?" he yelled, "are you trying to get me killed?"

Suki grabbed both of Naruto's arms and held them behind his back.

"Don't worry about him, Sasuke-san, just finish what you were going to say."

Sasuke looked at Naruto. He was shaking his head in furious desperation.

"Uhhh…I forgot what I was going to say…"

The two girls frowned at the both of them and walked a few steps ahead.

Naruto sighed.

"Thanks," he whispered to Sasuke, "before this, I was worried because Takahiro wasn't going to be here to stop them from beating me anymore. But now that you're here, we can watch each other's backs."

"Personally I think it would be funny to watch you get your head knocked off by a girl again," said Sasuke. He sounded very serious.

"Oh yeah? Well why don't I knock you're head off, you bastard!"

"You…beat me?? You've got quite the imagination, loser."

"We'll see about…Gaaah! Owww!"

The two girls had come to intervene, grabbing the two boys by the ears and dragging them along.

"I feel sorry for Haruno-san," said Akiko, "if she had to listen to you two argue like this every day…"

Naruto looked across at Saskue who was being pulled along by Akiko.

"Look what you got us into, dumbass!"

"Just shut up, Naruto."

This caused the blonde to grit his teeth even more. He crossed his arms.

"Hmph. Oh well, at least we're moving a bit faster now…"

After a while, the girls released their grip and they all walked side by side once more. The walls around Konoha kept growing and growing until they found themselves at the very base, looking up at the tall mounds of concrete and metal. In front of the gate, they looked into the city and saw the villagers walking to and fro in the midday rush. The two long lost citizens of this village stood right in front of the open gate.

Somewhere in the village was Sakura, probably worried about them as usual. Sasuke had told Naruto had had another talk aboout her. Sasuke went over their conversation once again in his mind.

"_What the hell do you mean, 'I'm not sure?' Yesterday you told me that you loved her!"_

_"Well, I do. But right now, I'm not sure what kind of feeling this kind of love is. I mean, I loved my parents, but that's different, right?"_

_"How do you feel about her, then?" Naruto asked._

_Sasuke looked away uncomfortably. He always had a hard time conveying his feelings and talking about things like this. But with Naruto, he knew that he could say anything and his friend would understand._

_"It's been a long time. Hmm...well I used to feel a strong connection whenever I was around her. I remember wanting to protect her on every mission because if anything happened to Sakura I'd be devastated." He completed his thoughts and looked at the dirt under Naruto's feet._

_"Would...you do anything just to make her happy?" asked Naruto._

_"Yeah, I guess."_

_"No! Not, 'I guess!' This is serious stuff! Give me a definite answer!"_

_"Shut up, Naruto! Stop acting like me and Sakura are already a couple. It's not like we're gonna get married or anything just because I'm going back! I haen't seen her for a long time!"_

_"In my eyes, you already are together! And if you don't at least give it a chance with her when we get back, I'll beat you up!"_

Sasuke sighed as he stared at the tall buildings towards the center of the village Naruto wasn't going to let him off the hook. The both of them were about to go through a lot hardship and drama , and Sasuke didn't want to have to deal with it, especially the little love triangle they had going on. With Orochimaru gone, he could have gone anywhere he wanted, but no. He had to follow Naruto and come back to this blasted village where they was sure to be the cause of much tension. But if everything worked out and things went back to being the way they were three years ago, it would be worth it. Sasuke just wanted his life back. He supposed that he would take things as they came, and he felt some relief knowing that Naruto would be there beside him, going through the exact same things with him.

Naruto looked over at him.

"Well, you wanna stand here all day?"

"Whatever. Let's go."

Sasuke strode forward.

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Sakura was making her rounds at the Leaf Village hospital. Tsunade sent her here often to oversee and take care of things while she and Shizune were busy. She dropped by Kakashi's room. He was still very weak and needed his rest. The best she could do for him now was fluff up his pillow and make sure he had everything he needed to be comfortable. When she stepped back out into the hallway, a nurse came running up to her.

"Sakura-san! There's a patient that needs attention right away!"

Sakura followed the women down the hallway and into a room on the left. Three genin were in the room, two of them standing over their injured team mate. It was a sight Sakura had seen many times before.

She let out a sigh.

"He did it again, huh?" was all she asked.

"Yeah," said the spunky-haired girl, "Konohamaru-kun pushed himself too hard again and collapsed while he was training."

As Sakura inspected the boy, he tried to get up.

"I'm fine. I need to get back to training now."

Sakura pushed him back down. The boy easily fell backwards into the bed.

"Nope, you've exhausted all of your chakra, and your body is really bruised up. Just what exactly were you doing?"

"A method I learned from Nii-chan and Lee-sempai."

"He made lots of clones and fought with them while wearing weights," explained Udon.

"Yeah, and after that he tried to run 300 laps around Konoha. He collapsed in the middle of lap 271."

Sakura just shook her head as she healed all of his bruises. Naruto and Lee…

"Well, you know the drill, Konohamaru. I can heal your bruises and injuries, but the only thing that can replenish chakra is rest. Don't go off trying to train anytime soon."

"B-but…Nii-chan and Lee-sempai used to train when they were still in the hospital, right?"

Sakura's face darkened in anger.

"Those two are hard-headed idiots. They almost injured themselves even more by training while they were still hurt," she said harshly.

The three genin were wary of Sakura's anger.

"That's because," Konohamaru started, "that's because they have something to prove, and will stop at nothing to see their dreams fulfilled."

Sakura sighed again as her face gentled.

"But look at your comrades. They're worried sick about you. Maybe you should give it a rest for them, just for today. Even Naruto took a break or two every now and then."

Konohamaru looked at Moegi and Udon. He grinned and scratched his head, a perfect imitation of Naruto.

"Uh…sorry for worrying you, guys. I…I just want Naruto-niichan to be impressed by all my moves when he comes back."

"It's okay," said Moegi, "we know how determined you are."

Sakura left the three of them in the room. If only the members of her team had been that easy to persuade…

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Jiraiya stood next to Tsunade's desk, looking over her shoulder at the paperwork she was going through. It clearly annoyed the Hokage to have someone lingering over her while she was working, but that was the toad sannin's entire reasoning for doing so. She quietly cursed at him as he silently laughed, grinning inwardly at the scowls she threw over her shoulder in his direction. Document after document, paper after paper, she signed her name and stamped the seal of the Hokage on each one.

"You missed a line," said the white haired man, indicating where she had missed with his finger.

She slapped his hand aside in irritation and quickly signed her name.

"I don't need your help for this, Jiraiya. Don't you have anything better to do, research, writing, or something like that?"

"It's your own fault. The last mission you gave me was too easy. I got it done faster than I expected."

Tsunade gave Jiraiya only the most difficult S-ranked missions that were extremely important to the village. As one of the two remaining sannin, he was the most qualified ninja she had at her disposal. She never really knew why he had chosen to stay and carry out assignments for the village after his many years of absence, but she wasn't complaining. He was a valuable asset; he was a legendary ninja; he was a trusted friend. Although she cursed at him now, she was really glad that her old buddy Jiraiya was here with her.

"Get out of here, I'm busy!" she told him.

They squabbled with each other for a few seconds, but they froze in place when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" called Tsunade.

The answer that came from the other side of the door successfully stunned them.

"Rakugosha."

"You may enter," said Tsunade, attempting to sound professional.

Four hooded figures made their way into the room. Suki and Akiko revealed themselves right away and bowed their heads to Tsunade, but the two boys remained hooded. Tsunade's eyes alternated between the two of them. They finally pulled their hoods back. Everyone in the room was all smiles. Even Sasuke, though his smile wasn't as broad as the others.

"As Godaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I-"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and cut her off.

"Welcome home, Naruto, Sasuke."

Throwing professionalism and properness aside, Tsunade jumped up and hugged him tightly.

Naruto brought his hand to his stomach and talked over the tremendous rumbling.

"Good to see you again, Granny Hokage, Ero-sannin. Is there any chance you would pay for our lunch?"


	24. Element of Surprise

I know, I know, it's been a while since I last updated and I apologize. The last few chapters have just been random things, really, and I never really gave thought into how they would affect the story in the long run. Basically, I was stalling for time to try and map out where the hell this thing is going. Thanks for waiting and for reading.

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His chopsticks moved with the swiftness of the wind; his appetite had grown to rival one thousand giant buffalo. Bowl after bowl, Naruto demolished every scrap of food and every last drop of soup that was placed in front of him. The poor old chef was busy making more and more noodles to keep up with his hungry customer, and his daughter Ayame just stared with her mouth agape at the incredible sight. Never before in all their years as ramen shop owners had they seen someone eat so vigorously. Two seats down from the ravenous eating machine was Jiraiya, who looked depressed as he thought about what kind of damage this would do to his wallet. Suki, Akiko, and Tsunade did their best to ignore him, and Sasuke laughed privately. Eating ramen was something he'd never be able to beat his long time rival in.

But as suddenly as the gluttony had begun, it ceased. Naruto's face, hidden from view, had turned red, and he clutched his stomach in distress as he fell backwards off his seat.

"Ooohhhhh…" he groaned, "I….ate….too…much…"

Eyes rolled, heads shook, and the word "baka" was muttered as they all stared at Naruto on the ground.

"Oy, Kitsune!"

A voice called to him from across the street, and Naruto winced as he sat up to look over at who had called him by that name. It was Shikamaru, and at his side stood Chouji and Ino, who was waving at them energetically.

They walked over and greeted Suki and Akiko. Ino noticed the second hooded figure sitting at the counter.

"Ah, so what do we have here? Another mystery man?" she said, sitting next two Tsunade and the other girls.

Sasuke just waved. Chouji and Shikamaru extended their hands and helped Naruto to his feet.

"It looks like you've found yourself a rival, Chouji," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah, he's always over-eating and has to go to the hospital," explained Ino.

"I don't think so!" shouted Chouji, surrounded by a passionate, fiery aura, "I have to go there twice a week, right, Tsunade-sama? There's no way anyone could beat me!" He showed a thumbs-up.

Tsunade gave him an ironic smile.

"Is that really something he should be proud of?" whispered Akiko to Ino, who sighed.

"No, it isn't."

The two boys of team 10 sat together with the two from team 7. They huddled closely.

"We figured that this was the first place you'd stop," Shikamararu said, "and we just wanted to be one of the first to welcome you back home."

"So…does Ino know?" asked Naruto.

"No. I figured that if I told her Sasuke was coming back she'd go absolutely crazy."

"It's not fair!" Chouji complained, looking at Sasuke, "you turn evil and leave the village, but half the girls here still swoon over you! I can't even get one to talk to me besides Sakura, Ten-ten, Hinata, and Ino!"

"Hmm…I wonder why?" said Shikamaru sarcastically, "getting sent to the hospital for eating too much is usually a major turn on for the girls!"

Sasuke shrugged as the other three shared a laugh.

"Did Temari head back to Suna?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, but she said something about being back in two days with Gaara."

More small talk ensued, but Shikamaru ended the conversation abruptly.

"Well, we better get going. When Tsunade-sama announces to the others that you guys are back, I'll act like I'm surprised."

They gathered up Ino who was talking with Suki, and they left. After paying a hefty bill, Tsunade and Jiraiya escorted Rakugosha back to the tower. With their stomachs full and Naruto's on the point of explosion, they settled into the room.

"Before I say anything," said Tsunade after they returned, "make sure that this is really what you two want. Do you really want to be apart of Konoha once again?"

Sasuke looked to Naruto, and Naruto looked to Suki and Akiko. They nodded, Naruto nodded, and so did Sasuke after him.

"Okay. I'll have to arrange for you to meet with the elders. They're going to ask you a series of questions, and-"

"Old Lady, you're the Hokage! Can't you just pull some strings for us so we don't have to go through that?" Naruto interrupted.

"I would, kid, but the village has certain regulations that I must follow. You've been missing and presumed dead for three years Naruto, and Sasuke betrayed Konoha to join Orochimaru. You can't just all of a sudden show up out of the blue and live here again. The best I can do is put in a good word. I think its best that you two conceal you're identities until we get this sorted out."

"So how soon can we get these meetings over with?" asked Sasuke. It was the first time Tsunade had heard him speak this whole time.

"Tomorrow. But be warned: both of you probably won't escape without punishment for your actions. Treason is a serious crime, Sasuke, usually punishable by death. Since you returned willingly and I'll talk to the council beforehand, you won't receive the death penalty or incarceration, but I can guarantee that judgment will be harsh."

Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto, the council never really liked you in the first place. If they find a good reason not to accept you back into the village, then your worst punishment will be banishment. But don't worry, you haven't done anything to endanger Konoha while you were away, so there won't be much argument against you besides the fact that they don't like you."

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms.

"Do you have any good news for us, or is it all bad, Old Lady?"

"I'm just telling it like it is, kid."

The boy threw his hands in the air.

"I just got home, damnit! I don't want to hear any of this crap!" he complained.

He stalked around the room, coming to a stop when he was face to face with Jiraiya.

"Oy, Ero-Sannin, I've got something to talk to you about."

"Huh?" came Jiraiya's dumbstruck voice, "what about?"

"Oh nothing much, just wanna ask you a few things."

The boy's voice was casual and sincere, but there was a certain look in his eye that led Jiraiya to believe that this was something important.

"Well come on then kid, we'll go for a walk."

Naruto turned quickly to the three he had come with.

"I'll meet you guys at my house later on okay?"

The sannin and his apprentice were gone. Sasuke and the three female ninja were left in the room

The Uchiha didn't like this at all. Tsunade was probably going to ask him all kinds of questions, and from what he had heard from Naruto, all three of these women had short fuses and anvils for fists. The atmosphere without Naruto was very awkward for him.

"Well, I'll be around," he told them, and he too hurried off.

"Wait, Sasuke!" Tsunade tried to stop him, "Damn. He's already gone."

Feeling a little left behind, Suki and Akiko sat and talked with Tsunade a bit longer. The older woman asked them about the many travels the two girls had been on with Naruto, and listened contently as they told her of their adventures together. She was glad he had found friends like this to watch his back. They chatted an hour away, Tsunade told them stories about Naruto while he was in Konoha and how he persuaded her to become the Godaime. The girls told Tsunade about the time Naruto almost fell off his own bridge in the Land of Waves. Back and forth they exchanged stories until there were no more stories to tell.

"Oh yeah," said Suki, remembering Naruto's solemn mood, "he's been really disappointed that he's the only genin left from his class. Is there any way he could enter the exams by himself, or does he have to enter with a team?"

Tsunade let out a laugh.

"There's no need for that. Entering him in the chuunin exams would be unfair to the other candidates since Naruto is way above their level. I'll promote him to jonin after his council hearing."

"That's good, Maki-san was pretty upset. He wants to be the strongest ninja, so I imagine he was really depressed when he came back and found that he was the only genin…"

"What about you two?" asked Tsunade.

"What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?" the girls looked up at her, waiting to hear what she meant.

The Hokage produced two forehead protectors from her desk and held them up for them to see.

"Can I look forward to you two becoming official Konoha shinobi?"

Suki and Akiko looked at each other and smiled. The shorter one spoke for both of them.

"It would be an honor, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade returned their smile.

"Great. Since you're not originally from the village there's just a few things I'll have to go over with you, and you'll have to sign a few papers."

The girls were walking over to the desk to receive their headbands when the office door opened.

"Shishou, I've finished making my rounds at the…"

The young medical kunoichi stopped dead when she saw Suki and Akiko.

"Uh…hi Haruno-san!" Akiko greeted her cheerfully.

"Suki…Akiko-san…" Sakura stared at them. "But does that mean…."

"Yeah, they were both here not too long ago," Akiko told her.

"Well…where are they now?" said Sakura, eager to see them. She thought she would die waiting for the past few days.

"I'm not too sure where those two ran off to, but…we're all meeting at Naruto's house later on tonight if you'd like to come," Suki told her, and Akiko could see that she was uncomfortable inviting Sakura to come over.

It was quiet, but an enthusiastic Tsunade cheerfully exclaimed, "Sakura, why don't you help Konoha's two newest shinobi by taking them around the city?"

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"So what was so important that you had to drag me away from the others?"

Jiraiya questioned Naruto as they walked further and further away from the center of the village; away from people who could possibly overhear their conversation.

"Akatsuki."

The single word was enough to make Jiraiya lower his voice and take Naruto seriously.

"What about Akatsuki?"

"We're going to take them out. You, me, and Gaara."

Jiraiya laughed and patted Naruto on the back, as if this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. But when he looked over at Naruto and saw that the boy wasn't laughing, his expression became grave.

"Wait…you're serious?"

"Of course I am! Ero-sannin, they've been after me all this time, and they'll keep coming after me until they either have me or we beat them. People I care about have died because of what's inside me, and I think it's time to take a stand against them before anyone else gets hurt."

"That's all fine, Naruto, except for the fact that…this is Akatsuki we're dealing with!" Jiraiya found himself yelling the latter of his words.

"So what? We took out five of them already, meaning there are only four of them left. We have to attack soon before they have a chance to re-organize themselves. I'm pretty strong, and Gaara is the kazekage. If we had you with us…" Naruto left he rest open to suggestion.

"You really are a fool, aren't you, boy? Tsunade and I are already taking the necessary steps to ensure the defeat of Akatsuki. You don't have to do a thing. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the fact that you're finally home."

"How long will that take?" Naruto asked, "a day? A month? A year? What if they come after me again and people in the village get hurt? I won't let that happen, not when I have the chance to stop them right now."

Jiraiya shook his head.

"There's still one problem: we don't know where they are. They move from place to place and never stay in one location for long. How do you plan to find them?"

He didn't like the small, sly smile that Naruto gave him.

"Well, we have two options: One, let either Kisame or Zetsu think they've escaped and follow him back, or two…I'm a jinchuukiki. I'll strut around for a little while and they'll come to me."

"You convinced the kazekage to go along with this crazy plan of yours? I thought that he'd be much too level-headed to agree to something like that." The white haired sannin could see the look in the boy's eyes. Naruto was set on doing this. Jiraiya had to douse the fire of his determination somehow.

"He was a jinchuuriki too, Ero-sannin. He knows…he knows what it's like."

"Humph! I didn't know that being the host of a bijuu not only makes you powerful, but foolish as well."

When Naruto opened his mouth to argue, Jiraiya spoke over him.

"Forget about it! Leave Akatsuki to me and Tsunade! You just go back to living your life happily with your friends."

Jiraiya knew that he would not listen. This boy was going to find a way to go after Akatsuki whether he approved of it or not. Tsunade was going to have to keep an eye on him for a while to make sure he didn't try anything reckless. As Jiraiya turned to leave, two simple words stopped him short.

"Fight me."

Jiraiya turned to Naruto slowly. His grave face darkened.

"Fight me," Naruto repeated, "and if I win, you have to swear on your honor as a shinobi that you will come and help us take out Akatsuki. And also that you won't tell anyone about it. I don't want Akiko and Suki catching wind of this, they'll follow me, and it's just too dangerous."

This was absolute ludicrous. Naruto may be on par with Kakashi, but he had a ways to go before he could brawl it out with Jiraiya. The older man could tell that Naruto was pretty desperate if he challenged him like this.

"Fine, kid. But if I win, you promise me that you won't try and go after Akatsuki behind our backs. You will abandon any thoughts of this little plan of yours. You'll stay here in the village and let us handle it. Do we have a deal?"

"I promise," said Naruto, and Jiraiya knew that he would never break his word.

They both jumped back, creating a good distance between them. Both seemed incredibly confident in their ability to win. Staying true to his style, Naruto ran in for a head to head attack. He threw a wide variety of strikes at Jiraiya, but the sannin dodged them without much effort.

The older man yawned mockingly.

"Is that all you got, kid? You're gonna put me to sleep here."

"I'm not gonna hold back, Ero-sannin, I'm coming at you with everything." After saying this, Naruto pulled out his kunai.

Jiraiya waved off the threat.

"Fine, fine, whatever, but wake me up if I start snoring, okay?"

Not taking too kindly to his taunts, Naruto created his famous shadow clones.

"When I win, it'll prove that I'm strong enough to be Hokage!"

With that, his clones rained down on Jiraiya like flies to a picnic.

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Kabuto waited as the guards opened the highly secure cell doors. Dressed from head to toe in a ROOTS uniform, he stepped into the dimly lit room where Zetsu was being held. With a motion of his hands he dismissed the guards, and they locked the door behind them. Kabuto had very big plans in store for Zetsu. Orochimaru, in the midst of all his research and experimentation, developed extreme methods of torture. These methods had broken even the most stalwart of men, and Kabuto had seen the techniques used countless times. Knowing Naruto, he would go after Akatsuki. The organization was still a very large threat to Kabuto's ambition, and he believed that Konoha and Naruto could get rid of them for him. He was here in this dark, rank place now to find out where Akatsuki's current location was and make sure that he slipped this information to the Hokage. Kabuto knew that no man alive could resist this treatment.

Zetsu raised his large head to look at his interrogator. He was shackled quite over-necessarily. He smiled.

"Another one, eh? What, did I scare the other two away?"

Amused, Kabuto revealed his identity. Zetsu's smile vanished.

"You…you were Orochimaru's little bitch, weren't you?"

Kabuto punched him. If he wasn't tied up, Zetsu would have been sent flying.

"I am so going to enjoy hearing you scream…"

But then he noticed something, something in the man's eyes. Something about them just wasn't normal…then again, nothing about Zetsu was normal. Still, Kabuto seemed entranced by his eyes, and he stared into them harder, trying to figure out what was wrong with them. As he began to see through the deception, his own eyes widened with disbelief and fear. Kabuto stumbled backwards and fell onto his back. Pushing himself up, he shuffled away from the captive on his rear. He looked at the man that sat shackled into place. It wasn't Zetsu at all. Zetsu's eyes were a deep, menacing yellow, the kind of yellow you would see when you look directly at the sun. This person's eyes were as red as a sea of blood.

"Y-y-you…." Kabuto stuttered, "but how….."

In an instant he found himself tied to a cross-shaped board in a world of hazy darkness.

"Kabuto…I don't know why you are here in Konoha, but you must be planning something. If you get in Akatsuki's way, you will be killed."

The man standing in front of him stabbed a sword into Kabuto's ribs. He screamed out in pain. As if time itself went back a second, his injury was gone, but soon he was impaled multiple times yet again.

"71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds left…"

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Jiraiya's nose bled uncontrollably as he lay twitching misery in the dirt. Three very beautiful, very young, very perky, and very naked blonde girls stood around him, laughing. He managed to get to one knee before getting blasted. Naruto had taken the opportunity to hit the old man with a rasengan, and Jiraiya went spiraling through the air. However, Naruto found that he had only hit a replacement. Jiraiya's voice came from behind him.

"Not bad, kid, but I'm not so careless as to let myself be distracted in combat."

With a fast kick from Jiraiya, Naruto was on his back. Already beaten up rather harshly, he got to his feet. His chakra was running on empty, and the three girl clones of himself disappeared.

"Come on, Naruto, does this have to go on? You've grown a lot. I had to take you a lot more seriously than I thought, I'll give you that much, but you won't beat me."

As he stood over Naruto, Tsunade came walking towards them from out of the trees.

"Old Lady?" called Naruto from his spot on the ground, "what are you doing here?"

Jiraiya was wondering the same thing as he watched her approach.

"There you are, you two, what are you guys doing?" she said as she drew near.

"Uhh…I'm just testing how strong the boy's gotten. What is it, Tsunade?" questioned Jiraiya.

"I just wanted to tell you that-"

She was cut short as Naruto yelled over her.

"Now's my chance! Watch out, Old Lady!"

He threw a kunai in Jiraiya's direction, but it was a little off target. The knife grazed across the Hokage's ample chest, leaving a rip that revealed her breasts for all the world to see. The poor old pervert couldn't help but be immobilized by the dazzling sight, and he stood there with an open mouthed grin like a he was a little girl who just found out she was getting her very own pony. He felt the urge to reach out and grab them, he'd been trying to get a peek at these for a long time, and here they were, right in front of him…

The opening was there, and Naruto took it. The Rasengan connected with Jiraiya's upper back, and he was sent spiraling through the air once again. But this time, it wasn't a replacement, it was the real deal. Not sure of what had just hit him, the Sannin was barely able to move. He struggled to look up at Naruto. The hooded boy was laughing hysterically.

"Haha! You fell for it, you dirty old pervert!" imitating Jiraiya's voice as best as he could, Naruto repeated what the toad tamer had said earlier, "I'm not so careless as to let myself be distracted in combat."

From his lovely viewpoint on the dusty ground, he watched as Tsunade transformed back into another of Naruto's shadow clones.

"Hah! I did it! I actually did it! Does this mean I am the new Sannin instead of Orochimaru? Woohoo, I beat him! I beat him!" The boy's voice was triumphant. He had just outmatched one of the Sannin, after all.

Jiraiya's body was immobloized, but his thoughts were running at 100 miles an hour. There was one thought in particular that he muttered in his head over and over again.

"_This is not good…this is not good…this is not good…"_

Blood was still gushing from his nose.

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he is back (but i guess he wasn't really gone in the first place). "How?" you ask? Well you'll just have to read next time, won't you...

Once again, this incredible twist wasn't originally part of my plans at all. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore...why don't we just have Naruto die unexpectedly next chapter from a venomous spider bite while he's sleeping and that will be the end...

Heh j/k...or am I?????


	25. Rain

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the wait. I just kinda - put it off – for a little while. When I wrote this chapter for the first time a while back, I didn't really like how it turned out and tried rewriting again…and again…until finally I stopped writing in frustration that I didn't know how to write this next chapter. Finally, today, I just decided to commit to something and just update the story no matter what. I wrote the reunion scene over and over again, but this is pretty much the best I could come up with…anyway, thanks again for your patience and consistency in reading this story. Hopefully my mind won't keep drawing blanks while I'm writing the next one…

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Although he had promised to help with Naruto's plan as well as keep it a secret, Jiraiya spoke strongly against the rash course of action. Naruto, of course, simply would not listen, and changed the subject by asking the old man to help finish his new rasengan.

"That's something I can't help with," said Jiraiya, marveling at the rasengan in Naruto's hand. It looked no different than the normal technique, but the old sage could feel it. The surge of energy that was coming from the sphere was definitely not that of a regular rasengan. It was as if the boy was holding the essence of wind itself in his hand.

"I can't teach you something that hasn't been done before," he continued, "because even I don't know how to do it."

Naruto let the blue sphere fade and sighed.

"I haven't been making any progress on it beyond this point."

Jiraiya laughed at the boy's discouraged face.

"Why are you so glum, kid? That thing may not be complete, but I bet that it's loads stronger than the original. Come on, let's test it!"

Jiraiya's hand began to glow blue.

"Use it against mine and we'll see just how powerful it is!"

Naruto nodded and his shadow clone began to make the circular motions with his hands.

Jiraiya moved as fast as he could, running at Naruto with rasengan at the ready. Naruto followed his lead. They clashed, and the two spiraling energies collided. The two attacks erupted into a glowing blue explosion. The force of the impact sent both shinobi hurtling backwards, and they landed as glittering remnants of their attacks fell gracefully around them. It appeared at fist that nothing had happened, but a moment later Jiraiya dropped to one knee. He cringed as he clutched his arm.

"You see that?" the old man smiled, "that's one hell of a jutsu you got there. I could feel the power. It's amazing that you were able to take it that far."

"It's not that great. I'm sure you could get it farther if you tried, Ero-sannin."

"That may be true, but I'm extremely experienced, a renowned sannin. You, on the other hand, are just a kid, yet you have already taken the rasengan up to this level. You should be proud of yourself."

Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Proud that I let three of my comrades die? Proud that I let Gaara's bijuu be captured? Maybe if I had been able to finish this earlier…"

Jiraiya walked over to him and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Naruto, listen to me. You've accomplished so much in two years, and you've grown so much. You lost precious friends in the process, and I'm sorry for that. But we are ninja, Naruto. We live in the shadow of danger. Death follows us wherever we go. Talk to any jonin back in the village, and all of them will tell you that at least one of their good friends has died in battle."

"When I become Hokage," Naruto said as he looked Jiraiya in the eyes, "I'll protect everyone."

"I'm sure you will, kid, I'm sure you will."

He still hadn't given up on his fairy tale dream of protecting every single person in Konoha. After all these years of leading a team of his own, Naruto should have a better grip on reality. Sooner or later, Naruto was going to have to realize that sometimes ninja die on missions. That's just the way it was. But for now, Jiraiya just smiled and nodded at him.

"I know what you're thinking," said the boy, "we all chose to be ninja, fully aware that being a shinobi is a dangerous path to take. It's just that…"

Naruto paused and closed his eyes tightly. Jiraiya waited for him to go on.

"People that are close to me keep on dying, protecting me from Akatsuki. Well, I don't want them sacrificing themselves for me anymore. I'll fight this battle without them."

The Sannin gave a hearty laugh.

"You don't want your friends to be involved in this fight? What about me and Gaara? I suppose we're not all that special to you…"

"I never said that!" Naruto replied quickly, "it's just that you're a sannin, you can take care of yourself, and Gaara's really strong, he's the kazekage…"

"Heh…I was just messin with you, kid."

Neither of them said anything for a few moments.

"Hey, Ero-sannin, can you train me? I'm not that great against long range fighters, or genjutsu."

Jiraiya nodded. He was going to have to train Naruto as much as possible in the days to come, but right now the boy looked completely exhausted.

"Later, Naruto. Now that you're back in the village, there will be plenty of time for you and I to train. But right now, I have some important matters to attend to…"

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"I am very pleased to meet you, Suki-san, Akiko-san. Allow me to welcome you to our Village."

"Thank you, Lee-san" the two girls spoke together.

The three girls had run into Lee walking down the street, and Sakura took the opportunity to introduce him to the newest ninja of the village.

"Where are you off to, Lee-san?" asked Sakura.

Once again, Lee got that fiery look in his eyes.

"Training, of course! I am supposed to be meeting Gai-sensei for some very intense super ninja training!"

Sakura didn't seem surprised.

"Didn't Tsunade-shishou give your team a day off?"

"Yes, but sensei said that laying around and slacking off is a terrible waste of our youthful energy!"

Sakura shook her head, but she spoke with concern.

"Don't train too hard," she said firmly, "I don't want to see you checked into the hospital like I usually do, you hear me?"

"Roger!" he said, showing Sakura his thumb. "It was very nice meeting you, Akiko-san, Suki-san, but I must get going now. I will see you around."

With that, he ran off. The trio of girls watched as he enthusiastically ran down the street.

"He seems…interesting…" said Akiko.

"He can be a little…weird…sometimes, but Lee-san is a nice guy. You'll get used to him."

"So, where to now, Sakura-san?" asked Suki.

"Well you guys must be tired from traveling, and personally I can't wait to see Naruto and Sasuke-kun. I think it's best if we just head over to his house, relax, and wait for them."

"You're right, Sakura-san," Akiko said, yawning, "we haven't really gotten much sleep since our fight with Akatsuki. A little rest sounds good."

Having decided on what to do, they headed to Naruto's old house.

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Sasuke lit two torches in the small room, and the light they created flickered across his face. The text that bore the hidden secret of the Uchiha clan was posted on the wall in front of him. Though he couldn't make out most of the words due to the dim light, he knew what they said. In the eerie silence, he thought about his fight with Itachi. He had been no match for his brother. If the others hadn't been there to help wear Itachi down, Sasuke would never have beaten him. Even after all his training with Orochimaru, he still wasn't able to defeat his brother one on one. Even if Sasuke hadn't killed his brother out of hatred, the revenge was oh so sweet. He, the last of the Uchiha, had restored honor to his clan by killing the one who slaughtered his own family all those years ago. It was a feeling someone like Naruto would never understand. He had restored his pride and his name. It was a feeling that he couldn't describe.

Up until now, Sasuke had lived his life for that exact moment. He was so fixed on revenge that he had let hatred consume his life. Itachi was dead. Sasuke was free of his burden; he was free of his loathing, thanks to Naruto.

He had grown strong, that loser of a dropout. When Sasuke thought back on how pathetic Naruto used to be in their academy days, it made him laugh. No one would have guessed that he would become such an impressive shinobi. Was it because of the nine-tailed fox?

Sasuke had to admit that he had been a bit surprised when he learned of what kind of power Naruto had locked deep within him. Such cursed power; such wicked power, just like his own eyes. His hand found his katana, and his grip tightened around the hilt. His whole fighting style had revolved around what Orochimaru had taught him. Every time he fought, he would be reminded of what he had done.

After several minutes, he decided that he had spent enough time in this mysterious room. He extinguished the flames from the wooden posts and headed up the stairway. He moved the floor boards back into place, covering his secret once more. But as he turned the corner, a familiar face could be seen walking his way.

"Oy! Sasuke!" Naruto waved.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" The raven haired boy walked toward his golden counterpart.

"Ero-sannin said that he had something important to do, but he probably just ditched me to do some perverted crap. I told him not to peep in on Akiko or Suki, or else I'll beat him down!"

"But why did you come over to this part of town?" asked Sasuke. "It's run down. No one lives here anymore."

"I just had a feeling you'd be here. What do you say we head on home now, Sasuke? I could fall asleep while I'm walking any minute now."

Looking around him, the Uchiha gave one last look at the place he used to call home. He hadn't really realized it yet, but he was extremely tired as well. He hadn't hap more than thirty minutes of sleep since the fight.

"Yeah…let's go."

They walked together, and the two suspicious hooded figures drew lots of attention. Naruto could feel the eys on him, he had become accustomed to the feeling and knew when the villagers were looking his way. Sasuke could tell also. They had both been the center of attention in their younger days, but both for very different reasons. Sasuke because he was loved and adored, Naruto because he was hated and feared.

They made their way to Naruto's home. It looked lonely as it stood there. It looked neglected and isolated, even though it was surrounded by other buildings. They climbed the stairs to the door, and Naruto ruffled through his pack to find his key. The door creaked open, and the two of them were greeted by the same old empty house, just as Naruto had left it.

"Welcome home, Sasuke," he said.

The dark haired boy felt ease at his friend's words, and he looked around the simple, small house.

"Yeah," was all he said.

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Sakura was the one who was doing the following now as they headed up the steps to Naruto's house. Her heart was beating in anticipation, but she tried to calm it. Knowing those two fools, they probably weren't back yet and would make her wait even longer. They came to the doorway, and Akiko reached out for the knob. It turned.

"Well, looks like they're already back after all," she said.

Sakura felt her heart jump. She could hardly restrain herself anymore. She glanced into the glass of a window and straightened her hair.

Akiko gave the door a gentle push, and it opened with a soft creaking noise. The person sleeping on the couch looked up and saw Akiko enter.

The shorter girl turned to him.

"Hey, Sasuke-san!" she said cheerfully.

Sasuke responded with a silent wave.

"I think there's someone here to see you," Akiko said, going further into the room and making room for the other two girls come in.

Sasuke watched as Suki came in….followed by Sakura. Sasuke's eyes widened. He didn't expect her to show up like this so suddenly. The Uchiha was completely taken by surprise; something that didn't happen often. He sat up and just stared with wide eyes as Sakura rushed to hug him.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said softly, her tears soaking into Sasuke's shoulder, "Welcome home. I've missed you…so much…"

The astonished boy wasn't sure how to respond. With his arms at his sides, Sasuke slowly brought them up and wrapped them around her back. This was his first, true, heartfelt hug in a long time, and Sasuke couldn't describe how warm he felt here with Sakura.

"Sakura…long time no see…"

She repeated his name over and over, squeezing as tight as she could. He was here…and he was holding her in his arms this very moment. She would never be able to put this feeling into words. All she could do was hold him as if she would never let him go again. Once, she had abandoned all hope of ever seeing him again, but thanks to Naruto…

She pushed away from him gently and held her hands on his shoulders.

"Where's Naruto?"

"Sleeping," he told her.

After giving Sasuke one last, quick squeeze, she stood up and frowned.

"Of course he is…" she said, letting out a long, drawn out breath, "but there's no way he's making me wait any longer…"

She marched to his room, and everyone followed behind her. Naruto was out cold, drooling on his pillow in a deep, deep sleep. She flicked him with her finger right on the forehead. But with her strength, it was enough to make Naruto groan in pain. He immediately sat up. The first thought that came to his mind was that Suki had hit him for some reason.

"Hey, hey! Suki, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he cried, holding his swelling forehead.

But when he came to his senses, he saw the pink haired girl standing over him. She looked like an angel; he could even see a halo floating gracefully above her head, but it was probably just him seeing stars from the after effects of Sakura's unprovoked attack.

"Eh? Sakura-chan?!?! What are you doing here?" he said in his clueless voice.

"Baka!" she screamed back, "what the hell took you so long? I've been waiting for a long time, you know!"

Naruto scooted away from her, cowering from her rage.

"Uhh…sorry, Sakura-chan, I tried to go as fast as I could…"

"Now, for making me wait, this is what you get!"

Sakura's hand balled up into a fist, and she drew her arm back behind her shoulders. Naruto covered up, expecting to be on the receiving end of Sakura's endless fury. But to his surprise, he felt something wrap around him, and he felt soft hands resting on his back. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sakura smiling at leaning over to hug him. She grinned.

"Welcome home, Naruto," she said warmly.

Like Sasuke, Naruto was at a loss for words. Sakura had never hugged him like this before. He was actually a little hesitant to hug back, since he was afraid that she would pound his head in. He looked to Sasuke for help, and when he only shrugged, he looked at Akiko and Suki. But to his disappointment, both of them weren't looking his direction. Suki for some reason had cast her eyes downward, and Akiko was looking at her worriedly.

She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You don't have to be so awkward," she teased, "we are friends aren't we?"

"Don't blame me!" said Naruto, "the Sakura-chan I remember would send me flying if I touched her, even on accident!"

She smiled again and hugged him close. This time, ever so slowly, Naruto brought his hands up to return the favor.

Suki watched them from the corner of the bedroom. She could tell that Naruto was happy, and for that, she was glad. But, on more than one occasion, she wished that she could trade places with Sakura. She wished that it was her that made Naruto smile like that, and she wished that she could be in his arms.

In the crowded room, someone's stomach growled loudly. Everyone turned to see Akiko rubbing her belly.

"Heh," she giggled, "so what's for dinner, guys?"

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Hidan's glowing, rainbow colored projection completed the formation of the semi circle and gave an audible grunt.

"What is it this time?" he complained, "Lord Jashin-"

His leader quieted him with a mere shift of his eyes.

"I didn't call you here so that you could give us another one of your religious rants, Hidan. Be silent, and listen."

Hidan obviously wanted to argue, but he knew that he had better keep his mouth shut.

"There have been a few…developments…" he continued, "that may or may not change our plan of attack."

The rest of them were quiet, awaiting the news that their leader had thought to be urgent enough to call an emergency meeting for.

"Itachi is still alive. It is Zetsu who has died."

"Hmph, how did that happen?" Kakuzu's dark voice rang out.

"From what I gathered, at some point in the batttle Itachi used the substitution jutsu to replace his body with that of Zetsu, and used henge to disguise himself. He used his sharingan to deceive his brother and the others."

"He sacrificed Zetsu so that he could live?" said Hidan. "Heh…I don't blame him. I woulda done the same thing. It's just like that bastard to pull something like that."

"He is being held in Konoha, and I think we can use this to our advantage. The nine-tailed jinchuuriki has returned to the village. Having Itachi and Kisame in Konoha will be very good for us."

The room remained silent when Akatsuki's leader paused. He had said that he had more than one thing to tell them. He continued his report.

"With the death of Orochimaru, there is a power struggle over which one of his underlings will claim his empire. Whoever it is, they will most likely come after us, we who killed their leader and pose the biggest threat to their power."

He was forced to pause because of murmurs from the others, but they soon died down and he continued.

"There is more disturbing news. Someone has been stealing our rings. I sent Zetsu to retrieve them from the bodies of Sasori and Deidara, but they were gone. I personally went to retrieve Zetsu's ring from his burnt corpse, but it was no longer there. Someone out there must know the importance that they hold. Finding them is our top priority for now. Extracting the seven and nine-tails must wait until after we retrieve the rings. Find them, no matter what."

"Without Zetsu, trackin em down is gonna be a pain in the ass…" complained Hidan.

"Do not be discouraged. This is merely a minor drawback. We will complete our objective soon enough."

The colorful projections of the five Akatsuki faded. All across the land, they began their search for the rings that they had lost.

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Sakura sat at the table across from two old friends, watching them with a smile on her face. Naruto and Suki were bickering as usual, and Akiko was just sitting back, laughing at them. Sasuke, though he was quiet, couldn't hide the small smirk on his face at some of the things Naruto was saying.

"I should just give up," sighed Naruto, "I don't think I've ever won an argument against you, Suki. All our fights end with you pounding my head. I've got so many bruises on it already…"

Suki had forgotten what they had started fighting about in the first place.

"That's right, so you should just agree with me about everything, Baka-kun!"

She tauntingly called him an idiot and stuck her tongue out playfully.

Naruto leaned in to Sasuke who was sitting to his right. He spoke just loudly enough so that everyone could hear.

"Do you see what I have to put up with every day?"

Sasuke looked over at Suki, gave a quick smile, and went back to his food.

The conversation died down after a while and was diminished to silence, but the friendly atmosphere never faded. They all just sat there, smiling at one another and enjoying the meal. Naruto, surrounded by his close circle of friends, smiled the widest. Sasuke was here, Sakura was here, and of course, he was always happy when Suki and Akiko were at his side. Nothing in the world could dampen his spirits at this moment.

Sasuke, too, felt at home. The only two people in the world he had ever been friends with were Sakura and Naruto. They had been through so much together, and Sasuke considered them to be the most important things in his life. He had no one else, and sitting here eating dinner like a family was something that the Uchiha hadn't experienced since his younger days, before the murder of his clan.

Even as the food was eaten and the night dragged on, their reunion continued; their laughter and good spirits didn't stop. At the end of the meal, Sakura didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay with Sasuke and Naruto as long as she could. However, it was impossible for her to stay over; not without drawing unwanted attention to as who was staying in the house. She had told her mother that the Hokage had entrusted her to make sure that all accommodations for the village's guests were prepared, and that she'd be coming home late.

She rose to leave against her will. The others sensed her dismay as she departed.

"We'll be here in the morning, Sakura-chan, don't worry." Naruto said as she hugged him goodbye.

"Later," is what Sasuke said when it was his turn for a hug.

Sakura stared up at the cloudy night sky as her light footsteps echoed softly down the abandoned streets. Sasuke, as always, still had that certain coolness to him, just as she remembered. But still, there was something about him that was different. He seemed to be a tad more open now. She had expected him to be quite secretive and quiet, his personality matching his experiences for the past few years. She had expected him to be cold as ice; hard as stone. But watching him tonight, she had found her predictions to be wrong. He didn't ignore her questions, even the more sensitive ones, and even seemed to laugh at Naruto's usual thickheaded behavior more than he used to back then…

It was Naruto she was concerned about. She could tell he was hiding something behind that charming grin of his. It was something in his eyes. Perhaps it was sadness she saw in the depths of his sapphire eyes, or perhaps it was bitterness or anger. Whatever it was, Sakura could tell that something was troubling him greatly. He had only once looked directly at her while she was there, and he had avoided eye contact with her after that. Whenever she would talk to him, he would divert his eyes to either her forehead, her shoulders, or stare right past her head at the wall behind her. It was more than just nerves and apprehension towards his hearing tomorrow. She didn't mean to be nosy, but she was worried about both him and Sasuke and wondered what was going on with them. They had kept her in the dark for so long; only after they left did she discover the full story behind the Uchiha clan. It wasn't until very recently that she learned what Naruto truly was. They had had very hard pasts; very sad pasts. The funny thing was, she had never heard either of them complain or cry about it. They were strong, those two. Sakura just wanted to know everything so that she could help them in any way possible.

Reaching her house and getting ready for bed, she thought that she could sleep easy tonight, knowing that her two best friends had finally returned. But the thought of them just kept her up all night…

Back at Naruto's house, the four weary ninja just about dropped dead right after Sakura left. Sasuke crashed on the couch, and the two girls shared the bed. Naruto, on the other hand, despite his tiredness, went up on his roof to gaze out into the open sky as he did regularly many years ago. He was happy that he had fulfilled his promise to Sakura, and even happier that she had come by to visit. She wasn't the only thing on his mind, but no matter what he started to think about, his thoughts always drifted back to her. Whether it was his hearing, his plan, or his upcoming training, all thoughts inevitably led back to Sakura.

He didn't know why, because he usually wasn't the type to get emotional over such things, but he felt rather sad. He loved her; a love which he had guaranteed to himself that would never be returned. He had lived all this time knowing the truth of this, but he never really dwelled in the negative for too long. He could usually shake it off and think about different things. But today, for some reason, he was feeling much more effected by this emotion than he ever had before. No matter how much he tried to think of something else, no matter how much he tried to forbid himself from feeling it, Naruto was depressed.

"Why am I letting this get to me?" he said aloud. "Haha…I'm just being silly…"

But, to his terror, there was a feeling deep inside of him, a feeling that he hated. He felt like doing something that he had sworn to himself to never do again. His eyes began to water.

"No," he said, trying with all his might to hold it in, "I'm not gonna start…just because of something silly like this…"

He had cried when Hiro died, and when the brothers had died as well, but this, he thought, was far from a good reason to cry. It was okay to cry for the sake of others. But this wasn't for the sake of one of his friends. The struggle he was going through right now could have been compared to Sasuke's when he was faced with the opportunity to kill Naruto. Sasuke had wanted to feel hatred with all his heart, yet he felt friendship towards his old teammate. Naruto didn't want to feel like crying, but it was something that he just couldn't control.

"Look at me, I'm just a little crybaby, aren't I? Cheer up, damnit! It's not that big of a deal!"

He was not going to allow a single drop of wetness escape the confines of his eyes. He refused.

But then, a million drops of water began to descend from the sky. There hadn't even been a few warning drops or a light drizzle to give hint that a huge rain was about to hit. It came in an instant, raining large droplets onto Naruto and the buildings of Konoha. They weren't the small, stinging kind that flies sideways into your eyes, but rather, the gentle variety that fell straight downward and tickled the skin. In the midst of it all, Naruto sat there, letting the rain soak his clothes, flatten his hair, and run down his cheeks. He had succeeded in holding back, but if Naruto could have used one word to describe how he was feeling at this very moment, that word would surely have been "rain."

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Kabuto huddled in a dark alley, hugging his knees. He seemed to fail to notice neither the rain that fell all around him, nor the small puddle of water that was forming underneath him. He rocked back and forth, back and forth, with frantic lunacy. The words he was muttering were only understandable to him.

"Could have killed have if he wanted to, oh yes…"

The sound of rain hitting the dirt and metal around him drowned out his voice so that even he couldn't hear his own voice.

"Kept me alive, he did….thinks he can use me, does he? Thinks he can influence my actions…thinks I'm too afraid to stand up to him now…"

His face was twitching, his body still feeling the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Could have tortured me even more…Kakashi spent days in the hospital. Didn't want to kill me…use me…I'm will not be a puppet…heehee, puppet…like Sasori's…"

The puddle grew larger, and it rippled from his movement as he rocked himself. His body twitching and his mind still in a manic state, a mad smile grew across his face.

"Joke is on him though…yes, haha, funny joke…I kept a secret. Shhhh! Don't tell, no!"

He laughed hysterically for several minutes.

"I have their rings….I have their rings…I have their rings…"

His incessant ranting was lost in the hum of the rain.


	26. Words of Wisdom

Hey. Originally, the plan was for Naruto and Sasuke's little thingies in one chapter, but it turned out a little longer than I thought. But the next chapter shouldn't take too long since it was supposed to be one chapter but I just split them up. Thank you again for reading, I know the last few chapters haven't really been oozing with action but it'll come. Later.

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The lamp overhead was blurry. Kakashi squinted with his single, uncovered eye, trying to make the world clearer. The throbbing in his head had been merciless for the past day and a half, but the pain seemed to have dissipated, if only a little. He couldn't complain, though, since the hospital would bring him whatever he wanted to eat, and the nurse that attended to him was kind of cute. Staying in this bed, although quite boring, meant that he didn't have to worry about doing anything else. The majority of his time was spent indulged in Jiraiya's newly released book.

Besides Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, and of course Sakura making her daily rounds at the hospital, Kakashi hadn't received many visitors. So when he heard a knock at the door and the nurse said that he had a visitor, he expected it to be one of those people. But the person who entered his hospital room was cloaked in a tan disguise, and when the coast was clear, Naruto's familiar face revealed itself from under the baggy hood.

"Yo!" Kakashi said with a wave.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei." The boy replied, standing at the bedside.

"What are you doing here so early? You're still in your sleeping clothes…"

"Just went out for a walk to think about things for a bit, and I wanted to see how you were doing…." Naruto moved to the window. It was still gray outside.

"You have a big day ahead of you, don't you, Naruto?"

"Yeah, Sasuke too," said Naruto, less than enthused.

"I'm not saying anything bad will happen," Kakashi told him, "but you must be prepared to face the fact that you might never return to this village again…"

Naruto said nothing as he continued to stare out at the silent dullness of the early morning.

"So who's up first, you or Sasuke?"

"I think I'm up first, and Sasuke is right after me."

"Well, good luck, Naruto, and good luck to Sasuke as well."

The boy nodded but did not move from his spot.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"How much longer do you think you'll be in the hospital?"

"Not much longer, I suppose."

"Will you be out by the time Gaara gets here?"

Kakashi found these questions a bit curious.

"Maybe, it depends," he replied.

"Well then, get better soon."

Naruto moved for the door.

"I'm going, now. The hearing is in a couple of hours and I need to go grab something to eat."

"I'll see you later then, Naruto." Kakashi had already taken out the orange-covered book.

"Hopefully…" he called as the door closed behind him.

"Everything will turn out fine," said Kakashi after Naruto left, "he can't be expelled from the village if he's going to be Hokage one day…"

Turning the page of his book, he smiled. He found himself believing in that kid more and more every day.

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When he arrived back at the house, Naruto found everyone wide awake and ready to take on a new day. He sat next to Sasuke, and side by side they contemplated with worried looks. The girls, on the other hand, tried their best to stay cheerful and cracked jokes back and forth, usually at Naruto and Sasuke's expense. Their happiness became contagious, and soon the two boys were caught up in the conversation. Suki and Akiko talked about anything that would take their minds off of the importance of this day, and when they ran out of topics, the subject matter of their conversations became ridiculously random. At the moment, they found themselves immersed in an intriguing conversation about ducks.

"I wonder if there is a clan of ninja ducks that can be summoned like toads or snakes…" Of course, only Naruto would say something like that.

"Baka-kun! Now you're just being dumb!"

"I'm serious, Suki. I mean, if there are toads, slugs, snakes, and mokeys, there might be some ninja ducks out there."

"You have to admit, Maki-san, it is a little farfetched. What could a duck possibly do?"

"Theoretically," said Sasuke, "Naruto's idea isn't as dumb as it sounds."

The girls raised their eyebrows at him, and Naruto grinned.

"There are a lot of different animals out there that can be summoned. There may very well be a clan of ninja ducks out there that can be summoned in battle."

"Both of you idiots are talking nonsense right now," Suki frowned, but laughed. Talking about ducks, they all sounded a little weird.

Their instant ramen breakfast had already been devoured, and now the four of them were just waiting for the time to come. The subject of ducks didn't last them very long, and when silence began to creep in, the girls moved on to asking Sasuke and Naruto questions about the village.

Shizune arrived earlier than expected to escort them to the town hall; Naruto hadn't gotten the chance to change into his regular clothes yet.

"We've still got some time, why are you here so early?" cried Naruto, gathering up all his things.

"I came to warn you. Word's gotten out that you two are back in town. There are a lot of people gathered outside town hall to either support or protest against you two."

Naruto smiled sadly.

"How many supporters do I have, Shizune? Two?"

Shizune only looked at him for a second, and didn't answer his question.

"It's always good to show up early, you two. Hurry up," she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Uhh…wait just a second, Shizune," Naruto scrambled, "hey Suki, have you seen my-"

"On the bed," she said before he could finish.

He ran to the bedroom and found his shirt sitting neatly folded on the sheets.

"How about my-" he asked her, but she answered before he could finish again.

"In the bathroom."

"And how about-"

"Right here on the table."

Naruto picked up Takahiro's necklace, as well as the necklace that Tsunade had given him. He let out a short laugh.

"What would I do without you, Suki?"

The girl just shook her had as she curled her flowing blonde hair with a single finger and half of a smile and half of a frown on her face. Everyone else in the room seemed to be smiling at them as well. With everyone ready, Sasuke and Naruto left with the others to what was possibly the most important event in their young lives.

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Sakura wasn't about to stay at home and wait for Sasuke and Naruto to tell her how it went. She would be there for them, as they had been for her. She wouldn't be much of a teammate or a friend if she didn't show up and try to support those two in any way she could. At the first sign of sunrise, she had left her house and made her way to he location of the hearing.

As she approached the town hall, she could see crowds of people gathering around. Their voices were loud, but too fuzzy and far away for her to hear. Somehow, these people had found out that Naruto and Sasuke were going to be put on trial today, and they had come to be firsthand witnesses to what was going to happen today. She stood at the back of the mob and tried to listen in on what some of them were saying. She overhead a large, grey-haired man who was standing in front of her.

"That Uchiha kid shouldn't even be given a trial. I heard he left the village to join up with Orochimaru. Traitors don't deserve forgiveness."

"What about Naruto?" asked a woman beside him.

"That monster should have been taken care of a long time ago," replied the man.

Sakura decided she didn't want to stand by him anymore. She found her way to the center of a group of screaming girls.

"Oh, Sasuke's back. I can't wait to see him, he's so cute!"

Sakura kept on moving.

"I heard that Sasuke was brainwashed by Orochimaru, so it's not really his fault," she heard a man say, "but letting that…thing…back in here isn't a good idea."

A man to his left turned to argue.

"Technically, the boy hasn't done anything wrong. He should be allowed back in the village."

The first man looked outraged.

"How can you stick up for someone like him? He's not human!"

Her blood boiling, Sakura walked away from the man without hearing out the rest of the argument. If she had stayed there any longer, she may have ripped that guy's head off. She searched through the waves of people until she saw some familiar faces in the crowd. They were all there; the nine chuunin who had come to support their long lost comrades.

"It's kind of crazy, isn't it," said Shikamaru, "there's so much people here…"

Chouji scooted further and further away from Ino, who had transformed into a rabid Sasuke fangirl.

"Cut it out, will you?" he told her, "it's embarrassing."

Sakura laughed as she joined them.

"I saw a group of girls back there," she said, pointing to the way she had come, "Ino would fit in perfectly with them."

They all greeted her with a "good morning."

But before any heavy conversation could start, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai appeared.

"Let's get going, all of you," said Kurenai, "Just because this is happening, it doesn't mean that you guys get the day off. Hinata! Shino! Kiba!"

Shino and Hinata went along quietly, but Akamaru whimpered and Kiba complained. Kurenai wouldn't hear any of it.

"That goes for you three, too. Let's go, squad ten, move out." Asuma stood over Shikamaru as he said this.

The boy pointed at his screaming teammate.

"Okay, but it's going to take all three of us to drag her out of here."

Asuma rolled his eyes.

"We've got a B-ranked mission!" said a spirited Gai, "Let's get it done in one hour so we can come back and see what's happening!"

"Excellent idea, Gai-sensei, but let us do it in 30 minutes!" called Lee.

"Okay! Lee, Neji, Tenten, let's go!"

Gai and Lee sprinted off while Neji and Tenten followed, but at a much slower pace. Sakura was alone again, staring at the many faces that had gathered. But soon there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Konohamaru. He was holding something in his hand.

"Hey, Nee-chan," he said hurriedly, "I can't stay for long, but can you give this to Naruto-nii-chan when you see him?"

Sakura smiled at him.

"Of course I will, Konohamaru."

The young genin stared at her smiling face.

"Hm? What's wrong?" she laughed, "is something the matter?"

He continued to look carefully, studying the features of her face.

"It's rude to stare, you know," she told him, her laugh not as sincere.

As if coming to a conclusion, Konohamaru nodded.

"Yup. I can see why Nii-chan likes you so much. When I first met you I thought you were really mean and scary; I didn't know why he even liked you, but now I do."

That certainly came from out of nowhere. Sakura just stared at him blankly, and the boy returned the favor.

"Well, I'd better go. Ebisu-sensei will yell at me for being late. Later, Nee-chan."

Sakura watched him leave. Thinking to herself, she looked at what he had given her. It was a picture of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. There was a note written on the back.

_Naruto-nii chan,_

_This is the day that we became genin and graduated from the academy. You've always been like a sensei to us, and we took this picture just for you. We've always had fun together, and we can't wait until we see you again so you can teach us new techniques and tell us all about your adventures! _

The writing was clearly Konohamaru's, but at the very bottom of the note they had all signed their names: Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru with the word "Hokage" next to his name.

She looked up when she heard the high pitched screams of Sasuke's fan club, and saw Shizune leading four people down the road. Akiko and Suki were walking up front, and two hooded figures walked slowly behind them. The scene was morbid. She could almost feel what her two teammates were thinking right now. With Sasuke and Naruto wearing their long cloaks and the serious gloomy vibe they were giving off, Sakura could have sworn that Shizune was leading them to their execution.

She made their way to them. Shizune gave a quick nod of approval as she passed, allowing Sakura to pass and have a quick word with them. She acknowledged the two girls with a smile, and she walked up to the two boys. Even though their faces were hidden, she knew which was which. They both greeted her with a half-hearted "good morning."

"Good morning, you two," she said, "don't worry, everything will turn out just fine."

She found herself speaking quite loudly over the shouts of the crowd and the ear-piercing screams that a certain bunch of girls were making for Sasuke.

"Naruto, Konohamaru wanted me to give this to you."

He took the picture from her hands. Sakura could sense his smile as he read the note.

"Neji, Kiba, Hinata…everyone was here to support you guys, but they all couldn't stay," she said, trying to make them a little less nervous. But as always, she was probably more worried about them than they were.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, swinging one arm across her back for a hug. He liked the fact that he could do such a thing without worrying about her fist in his forehead.

Knowing exactly what he was thinking, she grinned at his concealed face.

"The first two were free," she said, "from now on, you'd better be ready for some punishment."

She wished them luck as she made her way back to the crowd. Watching their backs, walk up the stairs to the town hall, she remembered what Konohamaru had said.

"_Yup. I can see why Nii-chan likes you so much."_

She watched as they disappeared into the building. Tsunade had made it very clear, even to her: no spectators allowed.

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Once inside, Shizune turned to them.

"Keep your answers short and to the point. They'll try to twist your words around, so don't say anything more than what is required to answer their questions. They'll make you contradict yourself and use what you have said against you, and we don't want that to happen. If they do, you'll just sound like an idiot."

"Why you lookin at me?!" said Naruto.

Shizune realized that she looked specifically at Naruto when she said it.

"Erm, well, you just tend to talk a lot, that's all," she said.

Moving along, she led Saske to the small waiting room. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other nervously before heading their separate ways. After exchanging a silent bidding of good luck, they parted.

Shizune took Naruto to a pair of huge doors.

"This leads to the trial chamber," she said, "remember what I told you, and you'll be fine."

Stepping forward, she opened the double doors.

"Honorable council, I have brought to you Uzumaki Naruto."

She bowed and stepped out of the room while pushing Naruto forward.

"Good luck," she said and closed the doors behind her.

"Thanks," Naruto said to the closed iron doors.

He turned around. On an elevated platform in front of him sat a dozen council members. Tsunade sat in the highest seat behind them. Naruto's eyes swept through each of them, but the only familiar face was Tsunade. They made eye contact for a split second, and under the circumstances, Naruto resisted the temptation to grin at her like he usually did. As for the rest of the council, none of them looked a day younger than 70. There was a man with bandages wrapped all around his face. Naruto wondered what had happened to him.

"Have a seat," said a woman. She looked like the oldest and most cranky person Naruto had ever seen.

There was a single chair set up just for him, and so he took his seat. They were all looking down at him, and Naruto found himself feeling highly uncomfortable.

"State your name," said the woman.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Do you know why you're here, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Good. Hokage-sama has already filled the council in on the situation, but we would like to hear the story from you. Tell us what you've been doing for the past two and a half years."

Naruto looked warily at Tsunade. She returned his gaze with utter seriousness.

"Well, two and a half years ago, I was selected to go on a mission with Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, and Inuzuka Kiba to track down and bring Uchiha Sasuke back to the village. They were all too injured to continue the mission, but I was fine and carried on with it, simple as that."

"I see," said the old woman, "and did you report in to your superiors?"

"I wrote a letter to Granny-I mean- Tsunade-sama telling her that I was still chasing Sasuke."

"Yes, she told us as much. But you went in the dark for a very long time. In that time, we have no record as to what you were doing."

"Like I said, I was chasing Sasuke."

The woman's voice became stern.

"And you were willing to throw side protocol to retrieve Sasuke? We are all bound by the law, Uzu-"

But to Tsunade's horror, Naruto interrupted her.

"A wise ninja once told me that for shinobi, those who break the law are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are even bigger scum."

He gave the council time to absorb his words, and he continued.

"I gave my word to a dear friend that I would bring Sasuke back, no matter what. As you said, I am bound by law, just as each and every one of you are. But we are also bound by our word. If shinobi break their word, they have no honor; they are worthless."

His words seemed to reach them, and some of them began to murmur their agreement. Tsunade found herself smiling. That was some speech he just recited. He did have his good qualities, after all. She felt proud of what he had said. The old woman who had asked the question seemed satisfied with the answer and leaned back in her chair in deep thought.

Danzou stood up. He turned to address his fellow council members.

"Friends, comrades, respected members of this council: This child is a paragon of strong character. His attitude represents everything our great Konohagakure stands for. He should not be punished, but given a hero's embrace."

Naruto's face brightened. He liked this old guy. Though he spoke in favor of Naruto, but Tsunade knew something was up. That man's hate for Naruto was deep and unbreakable. Why would he want him back in the village? But someone stood and opposed Danzou's statement.

"Why do you praise him, Danzou-san? You know just as well as I do what that kid has buried inside of him."

"You have feared him for fifteen years," Danzou raised his voice, "yet nothing has happened. The kyuubi hasn't broken free and destroyed Konoha, has it?"

This silenced the other man, but his disgust in Naruto was clear in his expression.

"I will not tolerate such outbursts in this council, Hachi-san," said the first old lady. Naruto figured she was the head of the council. "I will now call for the vote. Majority decision is final. All in favor of Uzumaki Naruto's re-entry into this village, let your opinion be known."

Four hands remained down. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"Now, as Danzou has requested, we will vote on this boy's punishment. All on the council who think this boy should be punished, let your opinion be known."

Six hands remained down. Six were up.

"In the event of a tie," noted the same old woman, "the Hokage shall make the final decision."

Tsunade stood gracefully.

"I, Koichi Tsunade, Godaime of Konohagakure, vote that Uzumaki Naruto shall gain re-entry into this village with no consequential punishment at this time."

Half of the council seemed pleased, and half of them rather disappointed.

"The Hokage has spoken," the old lady was standing now, "this hearing is officially adjourned. Shizune!"

Shizune entered the room and gave a bow.

"Escort this young man back to the room, and send in Uchiha Sasuke."

Shizune took Naruto's arm and waited until they were out of the chamber to show her happiness and relief.

"I heard what happened. I'm glad," she said, her smile wide.

"Thanks. Let's just hope Sasuke's goes smoothly too."


	27. Second Chance

Hey guys (and girls too). Just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who left reviews for the last chapter, and any other chapter for that matter. I really appreciate hearing such kind words, you guys are awesome. Thanks to everyone who added this story to their alerts list, and to all the people who read this story whether you've been here since I posted chapter 1 or if you're a newer reader. Thank you all. Hmm..this chapter is still building on things to come, but I'll try not to have too many more "set up chapters" in the future. One or two more, tops.

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He sat alone in the silence, not knowing how much time had passed. It felt to him like only a few moments had come and gone, but he knew that those were the periods when time flew by the fastest. He was unsure of many things, but there was one thing he knew for certain. In life, every choice comes with a consequence, and Sasuke could feel that the time for his consequences was drawing near. Sitting here in solitude, waiting for the judgment to come was surely not the best feeling in the world. He would have rather gone first and let Naruto sit here wondering what his fate would be. But as apprehensive as he was, Sasuke was still worried about how Naruto was doing. Sasuke's crime had been much more severe than Naruto's, so if the council denied him, there'd be no hope for Sasuke at all.

He had had to surrender his katana and any weapons or shuriken in his possession to the authorities. They would be returned to him only if the council deemed him worthy of remaining in the village…

Ever since he came back, he realized how much he had actually missed this place. Hanging out with Orochimaru and Kabuto could hardly be called home. His family was murdered. Even while he was out looking for revenge, deep down he yearned to find the security and affection that his clan had once provided. When he left the village, Sasuke had thought that getting revenge would fill the empty void inside of him. It was painful; it caused him great anguish. But he learned that vengeance would do nothing to heal the hole that had been bored into his heart. This hearing was important to him. For the first time in years, he had something to look forward to; and also something to dread losing.

With his mind brooding over all of these things, the usually attentive Sasuke did not notice Shizune and Naruto come into the room. They had to call his name twice in order to get his attention.

"Oh, Naruto," he said, finally acknowledging their presence, "how did it go?" He asked this with eagerness in his eyes.

"I got away with no punishment, thanks to Old Lady Tsunade."

Sasuke still had hope after all.

"It's your turn, Sasuke-kun."

Shizune opened the door wider to signal for him to follow her. He left with only a slight nod to Naruto, which was returned as they walked by each other. Nothing had to be said; both of them knew what the other was thinking.

It was Naruto's turn to sit in the empty room with only his thoughts to keep him company. However, unlike Sasuke, Naruto wasn't able to sit still. Only a few minutes passed, and he began to pace around the room. When that lost its appeal, he stared to walk up and down the walls. With all the wheels turning in that unique mind of his, he eventually found himself trying to find out how many shadow clones he would be able to fit in the small room…

Down the hallway from Naruto and to the right, Sasuke wasn't having much fun. He could sense the hostility emanating from the much of the council. This certainly was going take a lot of convincing, and a little luck couldn't hurt.

"Uchiha Sasuke"

Sasuke was surprised that the woman talking to him could talk with such a strong voice, much rather stand up, she was so old.

"You have been summoned here to answer for your actions."

Sasuke sat in the same intimidating chair and looked up at the members of the council. He did not recognize a single one, so it was kind of nice to see Tsunade, a familiar face. As the Hokage, she sat at the highest seat above the council.

"Let's start with why you abandoned the village approximately two and a half years ago."

"I…sought revenge for the murder of my clan and the shinobi who committed that murder: my brother."

His answer was short and to the point, just as Shizune had instructed. Sasuke was used to being brutally honest.

"And so instead of training under your sensei, Hatake Kakashi, you left the village to gain power through an S-class ninja criminal, Orochimaru. You were willing to do this on behalf of revenge?"

Sasuke already knew that he had messed up. He didn't need some old woman reminding him…

"At the time," his words came slowly, "yes. I was willing to give up everything."

"And were you willing to follow Orochimaru's every command, even if he tried to destroy Konoha?"

"I was trying to run away from everything that distracted me; anything I was afraid I might care about more than revenge. If he asked me to, then yes, I probably would have attacked the village. It was…one of those distractions."

The woman's eyes stared down at him, making him feel like a helpless little child being scolded by his mother.

"Do you realize that treason is punishable by death, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"Yes."

"And what makes you think you are exempt from such punishment, young man?"

"I made a mistake. I know that. I have come back to Konoha to accept my well deserved punishment, and, if by the council's will, make up for my betrayal by serving Konoha as best I can."

Sasuke stared straight into the eyes of each council member, and when his eyes rested on the bandaged old man with the stern face, the man stood up.

"Don't be too hard on this boy," said Danzou, "he was so young and was robbed of his family so suddenly. How would you feel, at seven years old? Confused? Angry? Would you try to put your heart at ease no matter the cost? What would each of you have done if your family was murdered before your very eyes?"

Tsunade frowned for the second time today. Danzou was being suspiciously generous. He continued with his speech with a soft, almost sorrowful voice that she thought him to be incapable of. Tsunade was going to have to keep her eyes on him.

"On that night, this boy was traumatized; emotionally scarred. Sasuke-kun has already admitted that he made a terrible mistake, and he his dreadfully sorry. He has come back to this village with the little honor and dignity he has left. Let us give him a second chance."

His small speech did the trick. It convinced enough people to vote for Sasuke to remain in the village, but there was no way they were going to let him off with no punishment. The council adjourned along with Tsunade, and Shizune came in to escort Sasuke out of the chamber room.

When the two of them got back to the waiting room, they found Naruto's leg sticking out of the door. Shizune poked at the leg.

"Naruto-kun, what in the world are you doing?"

She pulled on it, and the door flew open. Naruto clones came tumbling out of the room, spreading out into the hallway. They all scratched their heads in embarrassment when they saw Sasuke and Shizune standing over them.

"I was bored…" he said sheepishly.

In a sudden flash of smoke, the clones were gone and the real Naruto stood up. He looked anxiously at Sasuke.

"So, how did it go?"

"Well enough," said Sasuke, "they're letting me stay."

"That's great news!" exclaimed Naruto.

"But as punishment, the council decided to keep my chakra level in check and use some sort of sealing jutsu to disrupt my chakra levels."

"They can do that?" Naruto asked, looking to Shizune for an answer.

"Yes," she replied, "the technique controls how much chakra someone is able to mold and control. Sasuke-kun will only have enough to carry out simple missions. When the council thinks he's ready, they'll let him use more and more of his chakra until they remove the seal completely."

"Is that it?" Naruto asked, looking back to Sasuke.

"I have to spend nights in prison and I'm supposed to get some lashings later on today," he said, his voice not showing any signs of dislike or concern.

Naruto twisted his face into a frown.

"What the hell are those old, wrinkly bastards thinking? Lashings? Like from a whip?"

"Those would be the ones," Sasuke said as he stretched as if he had just woken up, "but apparently the sealing jutsu takes a while to prepare and the council's docket is pretty full, so I'm getting it sealed tomorrow night."

"Until then," Shizune added, "you'll be under constant supervision by one of our jonin."

The three of them were still standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Well, Tsunade-sama told me to bring you to her right away."

Naruto made another twisted face and looked over at Sasuke, but he found that Sasuke was already doing the same to him.

"I guess it's time to meet all of our adoring fans waiting outside," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Tch. You got girls out there ready to jump all over you, you bastard."

Sasuke gave a laugh and shrugged, and with Shizune behind them, they headed for the door side by side. When they emerged from the building they were hit with a wave of noise. Sasuke's screaming fan club was deafening, and the rest of the crowd wasn't exactly calm. Naruto saw Suki, Akiko, and Sakura in the front row, and the old ramen chef and his daughter were a few rows back, but no one else seemed familiar. Shizune squeezed between the two boys to make her way to the head of the crowd. When they saw the Hokage's trusted assistant prepared to speak, they grew silent.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Both of them have granted pardon by the council."

The mixed reactions from the crowd began anew, and while Shizune filled them in on the full extent of the situation, the three girls ran up the stairs. There were hugs all around. When Naruto was hesitant when Sakura approached him, she just laughed at him again. He wondered what was so funny and laughed nervously along with her. The crowd groaned and cheered as Shizune continued to tell them the decision of the council.

"Really!?" the girls turned to Sasuke sympathetically when they heard Shizune explain his punishment.

Sasuke just shrugged it off again as he had when he first told Naruto.

Shizune turned her back to the crowd, who were still trying to get their opinions heard.

"Well, let's go then."

Sakura, along with the four newest additions to the village, walked down the steps. Naruto avoided the faces of the crowd. He knew that some of them were there to root for him, but there were others who would give him the same dirty looks he used to get in his childhood. Those were the ones he wanted to avoid.

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Danzou returned to his office after the hearings and found Kabuto spinning in the chair behind his desk.

"I trust everything went well?" said Kabuto, his voice slightly shaky.

"Yes. Both of them have been allowed back into the village."

"Hehehehe…." Kabuto laughed as he continued his circular motion.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Danzou. He wasn't concerned, just a little weirded out.

"Oh, I'm just fine," said Kabuto, fumbling with his glasses more than usual.

"Good. Now get out of my chair."

Kabuto did as he was told, and Danzou took his place.

"So what's our next move?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We wait," said Kabuto, and the older man wondered why he was grinning.

"Wait? For what?"

"For everything to fall into place. Just wait and see, Danzou-san, we'll be on top of the world soon enough."

Danzou stared at Kabuto, who now appeared to be mumbling to himself. Of course, he would never spare an ounce of trust for someone as deceitful as Orochimaru's former protégé, and he suspected that Kabuto did not place his trust in him. They were just two power hungry men, using each other for their own selfish gains. Sooner or later, one of them was going to cross the other, and Danzou wanted to beat him to the punch.

The former Konoha ninja stood in his place for a little longer, and it seemed that he was having quite the argument with himself. As he turned to leave, Danzou could have sworn he heard him mutter something about rings.

"I'll be in touch," he called, walking away and vanishing from sight.

Danzou had a huge advantage over him, and he could use all of his resources to bring Kabuto down. Kabuto had no followers, no money, nothing. Danzou, meanwhile, had ROOTS, wealth beyond compare, and connections to various authorities all over the fire country. After this plan was played out, he would take down Kabuto before he had the chance to even think of a plan to get rid of him. His new Konoha will be the strongest of the shinobi nations; and with Danzou as leader, he would lead his people into a glorious golden era. His dream was so close…

"It's only a matter of time, now."

He remembered his own words that he had spoken to the council.

"_What would each of you have done if your family was murdered before your very eyes?"_

Danzou knew exactly what he would do if his family was murdered, and he intended to do it. For his wife, Suzaku; for his children, Motoki and Jinta, he would seek justice. Their murderer had haunted his dreams and stalked his every thought for 15 long years. He had been robbed of his happiness; stripped of his hope. The only thing that kept him going was the need to inflict as much pain as possible to the one responsible for his misery. He couldn't wait for the moment to come when he would crush the wretched monster with his own two hands. He was going to do what should have been done a long time ago.

He wasn't going to let anyone get in his way.

Little did he know that Kabuto was already one step ahead of him. He was one step ahead of Akatsuki, of everyone.

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Naruto's lunch at Ichiraku would have been perfect if it weren't for all of the people who were congregating just to stare at him. The chef gave him, Sasuke, and the three cheerful girls a round of free ramen as an offer of congratulations, and free ramen always resulted in a happy Naruto. And of course, a happy Naruto always resulted in everyone around him being just as happy. His Leaf Village headband sat fully secure on his forehead, symbolizing his allegiance to Konoha and all of its inhabitants. Sasuke had his on too, and Suki was wearing hers tied to her leg a few inches above the knee. Akiko wore hers dangling from her front belt loop. They still wore the tan cloaks that all connected them to Rakugosha, but in a less secretive fashion. Akiko wore hers open in a similar style to Anko, while Suki cut hers so that from behind it ran down behind her knees, but in the front it reached her upper waist. She also cut the sleeves short. Naruto thought the long, tan cloak made him look cool, so he kept it closed. Sasuke had rid himself of the clothes Orochimaru had provided him and reverted back to a dark colored outfit. It was all for naught though, since he too let the cloak cover his entire body. He did, however, leave it somewhat open on the top to give it the appearance of a collar, and the Uchiha symbol had been placed right on his upper back.. Tsunade had given them all a shinobi headband in recognition of their affiliation with Konoha.

"_Does this look familiar, Naruto?"_

_Tsunade was holding a headband in her hands._

"_It's the same one you sent me. I've been keeping it for you, just like I asked."_

_She held it out to him, and he stared as if he had never expected this moment to come. _

_Finally, he snatched it from her and grinned at everyone while he put it on._

"_It feels nice having one of these things on again," he commented, turning to the others so they could see._

_Sasuke felt the same way, but he remained silent and unsmiling as he tied it to his forehead. Suki frowned when she got hers and looked at Naruto and Sasuke. She didn't really like the idea of having it tied to her forehead, so she bent down and fastened it to her leg instead._

"_It's just not my style," she said when Akiko shot her a strange look._

"_Hah!" laughed Naruto, "now at least I have a little protection against Suki! Thanks a lot, Old Lady!" _

_And after a death stare from the girl whose hair was just as blonde as his, he turned to the Hokage to make fun of how old the members of the council were._

"_Who was that cranky old lady who asked all of the questions?" he asked._

"_She's the head of the council, one of our most respected elders," Tsunade told him._

"_Oh. So do you look kind of like her without your jutsu that makes you young?" _

The look on Tsunade's face was Naruto's cue to run for his life. He went back tohis house, and the others followed shortly after. That's where the girls did a little outfit makeover and then they headed to lunch. It was suddenly interrupted, however, when Jiraiya showed up and asked to speak with Naruto in private. Sasuke, Sakura, Suki, and Akiko didn't know when to expect him back, so they ate their lunch and returned to the house without him. Tsunade gave them the rest of today and tomorrow off, but then after that they would be going out on missions as an active ninja squad. Rakugosha was to be a three man jonin cell, since Sasuke's reduced chakra levels would prevent him from doing anything of great importance to the village for quite a while. Sakura hadn't been on many missions for the past few years, either. She had only trained under her mentor and helped with the more advanced healing of those who would come back from missions in critical condition. She occasionally served as medical backup for chuunin level teams, and was never considered a part of any team since 7 disbanded. Kakashi had abandoned his title as a tutor to young genin and went back to ANBU to serve as a squad captain. Under the circumstances, team 7 wasn't going to be reformed any time soon, at least for mission purposes.

Not wanting to draw more attention than they already had, they decided to stay indoors for now. Sakura assured them that some of her friends would be wrapping up their assignments soon, and they would surely come to the house. Suki and Akiko were used to slow days: they had been on the road with Naruto, Baine, Sato, and Takahiro for days at a time with no communication whatsoever with any form of civilization.

"They'll want to hear what's been happening with Naruto and Sasuke-kun, and Kiba is pretty eager to meet you girls."

Suki and Akiko were used to slow days: they had been on the road with Naruto, Baine, Sato, and Takahiro for days at a time with no communication whatsoever with any form of civilization. They were right at home just sitting around, talking about nothing at all. Sakura didn't seem to mind it either.

While they lounged around and waited the day away, Naruto and Jiraiya found a perfect shady tree and sat themselves right under it.

"I heard the news. That's great, Naruto."

The boy knew why the old man had called him aside, so he got straight to the point.

"I think Kakashi-sensei should come with us."

"And how the hell are you just going to take off with Gaara, me, and Kakashi without Tsunade noticing?"

"Well, you and Kakashi-sensei can tell that Old Lady that you're taking me out for some training. You can convince her that it'll be like a little…refresher mission. Then we'll just hunt down Akatsuki and take them out one by one." said Naruto. The reflection of the clouds passed across the blue of his eyes as he watched them float by.

"And if that works, what about Gaara?" Jiraiya was leaning against the trunk of the large tree, watching Naruto as he cloud gazed on his back.

"He's the Kazekage. Tsunade doesn't have any authority over him, he can do what he wants."

"And he's okay with leaving his village to hunt Akatsuki? What'll happen when he doesn't return to Suna as scheduled?"

"I dunno. He told me he'd take care of it."

Jiraiya had expected much more of Gaara. He wasn't one to let his emotions sway his judgment, and this decision to follow Naruto was as rash as the skin on Gamabunta's back.

He shrugged.

"Well, if you convince Kakashi to come with us and not report your little adventure to Tsunade, then he'd be very helpful."

"He might come. Kakashi-senei is pretty cool."

"Well, the Kazekage and his entourage will arrive tomorrow. If he does come, you'll have to give him enough time to recover."

Jiraiya sighed and took his weight off of the tree. He'd have to prepare Naruto as best he could.

"Well kid, there's plenty of daylight left. We can squeeze some training in before dinner."

Hearing this, Naruto got up so fast that his head hurt. The Sannin laughed. He expected nothing less from Naruto.

"I heard that you know how to summon different frogs now, based on the amount of chakra you use. But there are over a hundred species of toad out there, and I'm gonna teach you something new today."

As Jiraiya had planned, the training lasted until sundown. Naruto seemed to understand the concepts he was trying to teach him, and he got the hang of each summoning with relative ease. Jiraiya had heard from Kakashi and Yamato that Naruto had not only learned to transform himself flawlessly into many different things, but he knew now how to transform things other than himself. His henge skills were top of the line. The old pervert had experienced the realism of his transformation first hand. He caught himself drooling at the thought, and Naruto was staring at him.

"What the hell are you thinking about now, you perverted bastard?"

"Eh? Erm…nothing!" Jiraiya held his hands in front of him and waved them side to side. "That's all for today, kid. You should go be with your friends now. It's a day to celebrate, you know."

He leapt off with such speed that Naruto couldn't trace him. He was a little disappointed at the sudden abandonment, but what Jiraiya said was true. He hadn't seen the others since this afternoon, and it truly was a day to celebrate and be with them. Plus, Sasuke was going to have to get whipped tonight and sleep in a cell. Knowing this, he hurried off, despite being tired from a hard day of training.

He got to his place in no time. Sasuke was still there.

"Heh…you guys look bored."

"We thought it would be better to not wader around with all the commotion still going on," said Suki, "so we've been sitting around…"

"Sorry about that, I was training with Ero-Sannin. I was worried I might not see Sasuke before he had to leave."

"Oh, so you were worried about me?" asked Sasuke.

"What? I…no!" Naruto didn't do very well pleading his case.

And soon enough, from that single comment, the once dead silent room was ignited with Sasuke and Naruto's argument. Since they were bored too, everyone else jumped at the opportunity to join in at random points in the conversation. It blossomed into a healthy, fiery debate, and they were all enjoying having something to do until they heard a knock at the door. It was Neji.

"Ah! Neji-san! You came to say hello!" shouted Sakura.

When Naruto saw who it was, he leapt at the door.

"Neji!"

"Naruto…"

His white eyes were wide.

Sakura invited him in, but he Neji declined.

"I didn't come here to talk," he said, "I came to…escort Sasuke-san to his quarters for the night."

Wait," said Sakura, "are you telling me that you've been assigned to watch over Sasuke-kun?"

Neji nodded.

"With my abilities, I can know where he is at all times. The elders figured I would be best suited to guard him."

"I'll walk with you guys," said Naruto, but Neji shook his head.

"I can't allow that. Rather, I'm not supposed to allow that."

Without another word, Sasuke got up and stood by Neji's side.

"Whatever. Guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The two of them walked down the steps, leaving everyone still a bit taken by surprise.

"Well, that wasn't awkward!" Naruto laughed.

His first night back as a Leaf ninja was plagued by other thoughts, keeping him up into the dead of night. Sasuke's night also dragged on; he found sleep quite difficult considering the massive stinging pain from the cuts on his back. But finally sleep came, if only for a couple of hours, temporarily relieving them of any worry and pain they were burdened to feel in the waking world.


	28. Daybreak

There isn't really much to say this time besides thank you to everyone...

And now that it has been said, I'll let you get on with it.

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Ask any rooster in the entire world, and they would tell you that Naruto was crazy for being up so early. He didn't mind though, since he knew it would be impossible for him to go back to sleep anyway. Remembering the view of the peach sunrise from the top of Hokage Mountain inspired him to head for the five huge faces that towered over the village. They were still asleep, but Naruto wanted Suki and Akiko to come with him. It was risky because they might bite his head off for waking them so early, but it was his first time seeing it since he came back, and he wanted to share the moment with them. As gently as he could, but hard enough to wake her, he shook Akiko until her eyes slowly opened.

She blinked her large, coal eyes at him.

Realizing that there was quite some time let before dawn came, she sat up and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes.

"What's up, Maki-san? Is there something wrong?"

"Sorry for waking you, but I wanted to take you somewhere."

He looked at her uneasily, waiting for her reaction to the intrusion of her sleep. Seeing his face, she smiled, letting him relax.

"Heh…don't you worry about waking me up, Maki-san, I don't mind. You're going to take us to see the sunrise, right? You've told us about it so many times…"

"Oh, have I? I don't remember that," said Naruto in a sarcastic, sort of clueless voice. He had probably told the girls about it every day since they met up.

This caused a sharp grin to appear on the girl's face.

"I was having a nightmare, anyway," she told him.

"About what?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I was the size of an ant and you and Suki were trying to step on me."

Naruto's laugh came out before he could catch himself. He gave her an apologetic look, but she could tell that he was still holding back laughter. The grin he had put on her face subsided, and she squinted her eyes and punched him in the chest.

"It was scary, okay?" she said casting her eyes downward.

But soon enough she started to laugh too, and Naruto knew it was safe to let loose and laugh along with her.

After their shared laughter grew weaker, Naruto glanced warily in Suki's direction.

"I know what you're worried about. Trust me; she won't be angry, not about this."

Naruto looked skeptical.

"I have bruises on top of bruises from her, you know. A couple of them are yours too."

Her soft laugh came again, and in the absence of a brush she began to run her fingers through her hair, untangling the knots that had formed overnight.

"Oh, you know we're just playing around with you."

"Just playing around, huh? It sure doesn't feel like it…" Naruto rubbed his head tenderly. "She'll probably punch me the moment I wake her up from reflex alone…" he said.

Akiko stared at him, waiting patiently for him to stop being so hesitant to wake their dozing friend up. But he made no indication that he would be doing so.

"Hey, Aki-chan,"

"Yeah?"

"Are you happier now that we've settled actually settled down? I mean, are you glad that, you know…"

Akiko thought it to be an odd question, but she figured that Naruto was trying to get some advice from her without actually having to ask her the real question that was on his mind. He was always trying to do that sort of thing. She offered a truthful answer in an attempt to solve whatever problem it was he was dealing with.

"Of course I am, Maki-san."

"Then you don't miss traveling around and seeing new places?"

"Traveling is nice; and staying in one place has its advantages too. I don't mind doing either. But whatever I do, as long as I have close friends around then I'll be happy no matter what." After she finished, she nodded her head with finality.

He didn't seem satisfied yet. Akiko rolled her eyes.

"You know, if you need help with something, all you have to do is ask."

It looked like he was about to say something to her, but he opened his mouth and then closed it again and looked away. Instead, he looked at Suki.

"Well you can start by helping me wake Suki up."

Akiko shook her head and sighed.

"Maki-san, you know you can trust us with anything, right?"

"Of course I know that. I trust you guys with my life."

"You always keep things hidden from us; you think you have to do things alone for some stupid reason. You think you need to protect us, or you put on that macho attitude and take on everything by yourself. We can help you, you know, and when you finally decide to tell us what's going on, we'll be more than happy to do so."

"I know, I know..."

Akiko's eyes made him feel a little guilty for leaving them in the dark, and she went to Suki to wake her up. Naruto gripped Takahiro's pendant. He didn't want any other memorabilia. Akiko and Suki weren't going to be necklaces around his neck; they weren't going to be shadows and memories in the back of his mind. Naruto refused to have that happen.

"Kiko? Damn, Kiko what time is it?"

Akiko's shaking had done its job.

"Time for you to get up! Maki-san wants to take us up the mountain."

"But it doesn't look like the sun is coming up anytime soon," she complained.

"Well," called Naruto, "I thought I'd wake you up early, since it takes you forever to get ready!"

"Oh, shut it, Baka-kun…"

She and Akiko started with each other's hair.

"Like I said," but he stopped short, actually thinking before he spoke for once. He didn't need another bump on his head, and he and Akiko smiled to themselves.

When the girls were ready, they set out. As they walked, Suki still seemed half asleep, so the other two had to slow their pace in order for her to keep up with them.

"Jeez, Suki," said Naruto, "you're worse than I am!"

"I am not. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me who slept like a log straight through that Sound Village ambush."

Naruto had nothing he could use to counter, so he kept his mouth shut. When they got to a certain point in the village, the girls didn't know where they were going, so Naruto had to walk a few steps ahead of them to lead the way. He took them past the big hotels and past the town hall. He led them past the cemetery, but then stopped. He spotted two people standing among the graves. It was Tsunade and Shizune. The sun wasn't due for a little longer, so the three of them walked over to see what was up.

"Oi, Old Lady!" he called from afar, "shouldn't you be catching up on your beauty sleep? You need all that you can get!"

The Hokage turned at the sound of his voice. Shizune bid them all a fair morning.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Tsunade asked, not letting his comment get to her.

"I could ask you the same thing, Granny."

"A Hokage doesn't get much sleep, you know. That's why I'm sure Gaara-san makes an awfully good Kazekage; he is used to not sleeping, so now even though the Shukaku is gone, he doesn't need a lot of sleep."

Naruto stared at the rows of headstones around him,

"Yeah, he's coming today, isn't he?" Naruto said absentmindedly. But that wasn't what he was wondering about. "So why are you out here?"

Tsunade looked around too.

"I like to come here to think," she said.

"Think? This is a pretty depressing place to think, if you ask me."

Suki, Akiko, and Shizune were standing back, listening to Naruto and Tsunade talk side by side.

"It helps me clear my mind and focus on making rational decisions," Tsunade told him.

Naruto took a closer look at the two graves in front of them. The names were Nawaki and Don. Naruto realized who they were.

"So this is them, huh?" he said, bending down ad running his fingers over the cold marble stone.

Tsunade said nothing.

"Your little brother and your boyfriend. What were they like, Old Lady?"

Her laugh was graceful and soothing.

"Nawaki was just like you, and Don too, though he was kind and more mature. They both wanted to fulfill their dreams of being Hokage and protecting the village."

"Can I ask how they died?"

Suki shouted at him after he asked the question.

"Baka! Don't be so insensitive!"

But Tsunade answered anyway.

"They both died on the battlefield; one of them died right in my arms."

Naruto stood back up, looking down at the graves in admiration and remorse. These people never had the chance to become Hokage; it was sad. Naruto made a fist and brought it to his heart. Tsunade watched him through the corner of her eyes.

"I swear," Naruto began, barely a whisper, "I swear I'll fight as hard as I can. I'll do whatever it takes to shape this village into something you would be proud of, something that is worth the price of your lives. For it is my dream is to become Hokage one day, too."

They all stood in the morning, letting the breeze brush against their cheeks as they watched Naruto make this oath as a tribute to those who had fallen before their dreams could be realized.

"Naruto…" Tsunade started, but she didn't finish, not knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

"Hey, Granny Tsunade,"

"What is it?"

"That Don guy must have been pretty crazy, hanging out with a cranky old geezer like you!"

Tsunade laughed again and smiled at Naruto, looking at him face to face.

"I was young once, you know. You might have even liked me back then."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and his jaw dropped. He yelled at Tsunade.

"Don't talk about something like that! It's creepy! You are…I mean, I think of you as…Gah! Why'd you have to go and say that?"

Tsunade found his behavior quite amusing. He had both hands on his head, and it looked like he was trying to pull certain thoughts out of his head.

"By the way, Naruto, you never answered my question. What are you three doing out here?"

"I'm taking these two to see the sunrise."

"Oh? Well that's nice. It is one of Konoha's top ten attractions, you know!" She doubted anyone cared, but Tsunade took any opportunity she could to let loose small tidbits of information, just because she knew it. She had had to sit through and actually read a manual for Konoha; that was where she had learned all sorts of useless information. Letting Naruto and the others know that the sunrise was a top ten attraction mad eall the facts she had piled up in her head seem a little less useless.

"Yeah, we'd better get going. The sun will be up soon, and we still have to make it to the top. Later, Granny Tsunade."

"I'd better get going too," said Tsunade, "there are still some preparations to be made for the Kazekage's arrival."

"Alright then, Old Lady, Shizune, see you later," Naruto turned and Suki followed.

But Akiko saw an opportunity here.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama," she said, "did you still want to talk to me about something?"

There was something strange in her tone of voice. She gave Tsunade a hinting look, motioning to Naruto and Suki with her eyes. Tsunade seemed to get the gist of her plan.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot about that!" she said.

"Huh? You wanted to talk to Aki-chan? About what?" Naruto asked, pausing mid-stride when he heard this.

"Oh, don't you worry about it," said Akiko, "you two go on without me. I can go up and see it some other time."

Suki seemed to catch on to Akiko's little plan as well, and although the look she gave her friend told her not to leave with Tsunade, deep down inside she was grateful.

"Well, okay," said Naruto, "I guess we'll meet up with you later, then."

He turned quickly and leapt off, racing the sunset to the top of the mountain. Suki followed after a bow to Tsunade. The Hokage had to rub her eyes for a moment. She had thought she'd seen her brother and Don walking alongside Naruto. Realizing that it would be impossible for her to see them here, she turned to Akiko. The dark haired girl spoke first.

"Thanks for playing along, Tsunade-sama," she said.

"No problem. That kid is so thick headed he wouldn't know a good thing if it his him on the forehead. He needs all the help he can get."

"Is there anything you guys need help with?" asked Akiko.

"No, you don't need to trouble yourself," Shizune answered, "we can handle it."

Akiko nodded.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to find something to keep me busy. Bye, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-senpai."

Walking down the path carved out around the headstones, she left the graveyard.

"Come, Shizune, we need to be going too."

They left the cemetery to start another busy day in Konoha. But Naruto's words had inspired them to have a productive day.

-xxx-

Naruto, with his arm around Suki's lower back, watched as the brilliant light of the golden sun peeked up above the edge of the world.

"It really is beautiful," said Suki, her head resting on Naruto as she looked out.

"The sun…" whispered Naruto, remembering why he was first so attracted to it, "it brings light to a cold, dark world. And you can always count on it to rise every morning. I used to come here a lot, back in those days…"

Suki felt his grip around her tighten slightly, and she was hugged closer to him.

"It might sound dumb," he said, "but it kind of gave me hope, in a way. You could say it helped me out."

"Why would I think that sounds dumb?"

This time it was her who tightened her grip on Naruto.

"Hey, Suki," he said after a while. The sun was already well above the horizon, yet the two of them still stood there.

"What?" she asked.

"Will you come up here with me sometimes?"

Naruto didn't know what is was about her, but being with Suki made him feel so secure. He couldn't put his finger on it, but whenever she was nearby he felt like everything was going to be alright. Sometimes, even he felt like giving up when things seemed impossible, but all he had to do was take one look at her and he'd find strength in himself that he never even knew was there. She was really something special, and Naruto couldn't think of a better way to start each and every day than to come up here with her.

"But it's so early…" complained Suki, but she was only playing around a little. Of course she would come up here with him.

"Yeah, I know. You don't have to if you don't want to," said Naruto, not getting the hint that Suki wasn't serious.

Seeing how sad he was that she had refused him brought forth a soft smile from her.

"But I guess I can endure it, if it's for you."

Naruto's face brightened when he heard this, and Suki would never be able to explain the pricelessness of that exact moment.

"Uhh, Suki?" Naruto said again after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

The sun, now fully exposed, graced Konoha with it's light. The village seemed to come alive as the buildings cast their silhouettes to the west.

"Naruto," her voice hinted exasperation.

When Naruto turned to Suki, she was frowning.

"Please don't tell me we're having ramen for breakfast again."

Naruto grinned and pulled two free ramen coupons from his pocket.

"To Ichiraku!" he shouted.

He dragged a groaning Suki by the arm and they headed down the mountain together.

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Akiko had also grown tired of ramen. Ichiraku was really good, but having to eat it every day wasn't something she liked to think about. Instead, she decided to see what the local dango shop had to offer. The shop was empty except for a woman that was sitting at the table. She and Akiko stared at each other; Akiko's cloak and the woman's coat were being worn in an almost identical style. It wasn't until after Akiko walked past her that the woman spoke.

"You…you must be Akiko-san" she said.

"Yes, that's right. How did you know?"

"Tsunade-sama told all of us jounin about you, Naruto-kun, and Suki-san. You're the newest jounin."

"And you could tell who I was?" asked Akiko.

"That mark on the back of your neck. I'm very familiar with it."

The woman pulled back the cloth of her coat to reveal the curse mark. Akiko gaped at it, and the woman stood.

"Mitarashi Anko is the name."

"Glad to meet you, senpai," Akiko bowed her head.

"Senpai? No, no, no! Anko will do."

Akiko bought her dango and sat next to Anko, who had already eaten her way through five or six helpings.

"You were there when Orochimaru died, weren't you?" asked Anko.

"Yes, I was," said Akiko, taking her first bite and liking the taste.

"I wish I could have been there. Actually, I wish I could have done it myself. But all that matters now is that he's dead."

They talked a little while more, but Anko had to go.

"There's always something to do around here, as you'll soon find out," she said, rising, "if you have any questions just come see me."

"Thank you, Anko-san," she said.

Anko stopped in the doorway.

"By the way, nice outfit."

They smiled and Anko waved, leaving Akiko by herself. But the streets had come alive quickly. There was now a steady stream of people walking by the restaurant in either direction. A young man who looked to be about Akiko's age walked into the shop and caught her eye, and she seemed to catch his in return. He was tall; that was the first thing she noticed about him. He had short, neat hair and brown eyes, and he was wearing a typical ninja vest. He smiled at her, and when he did she sipped her tea sensuously. After getting his order, he walked over to her.

"I haven't seen you around before. I definitely would have remembered a pretty face like yours," he rubbed his chin and noticed the symbol hanging from her belt loop. "But you have a Konoha headband...are you new here?"

Akiko looked up at him. If she would have stood up, the top of her head would have reached up to his lower chest.

"Yeah, I'm new. My name is Akiko."

"Akiko? Well mine is Kuro. Ishigen Kuro."

He sat down across from her.

"I love this place. They have the best dango in Konoha. Guess I got lucky today though, because I also met a pretty girl, too!"

She sipped her tea again.

"So what are you?" he asked, pointing to her forehead protector, "a chuunin?"

"Erm, well actually I'm a jounin."

"Really?" his once confident look faded. He seemed a bit more intimidated now. "You must be really great, then."

"Um, excuse me, can I get some more tea over here?" she called to the man behind the desk.

"I'm only a chuunin. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two sometime."

"I'd like that," said Akiko.

"Since you're new, I can give you a tour of the village."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. A good friend of mine lived here when he was younger, and he showed me around."

"Is that so?" said Kuro, "well what's his name, maybe I know him."

"You probably have heard his name a few times. His name is Naruto."

Kuro's faces seemed to melt with disgust. He stood suddenly and slammed his hands on the table.

"I knew you're name was familiar. You're one of the girls who came back to the village with him."

"That's right…" said Akiko, not sure what to make of his sudden behavior.

"Hmph. Even though it was forbidden, my parents told me about him. I don't want to have anything to do with him, much less someone who calls him a good friend. You can go rot in hell with him, for all I care. That's where he belongs."

She only stared at him, taken aback by his overall rudeness and ignorance. Naruto had told her that the villagers had hated him, but she never expected anything like this. The nerve of this guy...to insult Naruto in such a way, and insult her as well for being his friend was unforgivable. Before she realized it, the table that was separating them had been thrown aside and the tip of her kunai was pressed against Kuro's stomach.

"How dare you," her voice was a deadly whisper that chilled the man's bones, "you know nothing about me. You know nothing about him. And it's because of fuckers like you that he's been through everything he has. Maki-san is ten times the man you could ever hope to be."

She lowered her kunai to his crotch.

"That is, if I choose to let you remain one, even though you're a pitiful excuse for a man already."

He swallowed so hard that his throat hurt. Akiko reached up and grabbed the neck of his shirt.

"Get lost. And if I ever see you again, you'd better believe I'm not going to be so generous."

She let him go and pushed him away, and he hurried out of the store. After he was gone, she sighed and sat back down, trying to calm down. She rubbed the back of her neck where Orochimaru had bitten her some time ago. Initially, she was glad to have the mark. It signified that she belonged somewhere; that she was a part of something.

"_You're leaving now, Orochimaru-sama?"_

_A young Akiko hurried to catch up to him as he walked slowly out of the village._

"_Yes. Yes, I am."_

"_Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were going together?" _

"_Ah, my dear Akiko. Don't you see? You have served your purpose, and now I'm moving on to more important things. Your unique abilities have done wonders for my experiments, though, and you have my thanks. But I must be going now." _

_Akiko tried for his hand, but he withdrew it from her reach. _

She remembered having to watch him walk until he was out of sight. He knew how to manipulate minds and take advantage of people when they were most vulnerable. He had tricked her, an orphan, into believing that he actually cared for her as his own child. And after that, the small town where she lived resented her for having anything to do with Orochimaru. They exiled her and she was left on her own with nothing more than the clothes on her back. Life was miserable as she traveled from here to there. She had nothing. Well, she did have misery, which counts as something, she supposed. It wasn't until almost a year and a half later that she was lucky enough to run into Naruto, and he changed everything. Akiko wasn't about to sit there and listen to someone insult her, much less the person that had turned her life around.

Recovering from her anger, she stood up.

"Sorry about the mess, sir," she said to the shop keeper, "I can pay for the damage."

"Uh…that won't be necessary, young lady," he said.

She thanked him and went out of the store, ignoring eager spectators in the street who had been staring into the shop, trying to see what was going on.

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Kiba never really was one to strategize, he just relied on his pure strength and agility to overwhelm his opponents. So when he realized he wasn't going to be able to overwhelm Naruto, he didn't really know what to do. Naruto had countered and avoided most of his moves. Kiba and Akamaru fought in perfect sync with each other, and they landed a few hits on Naruto, but none of them were heavy enough to take Naruto out for good. At this point in the match, Naruto's chakra endurance came into play, and his hundreds of clones were just too overwhelming for Kiba. At the end of the fight, he sat on one knee, breathing heavily and leaning against Akamaru, who was exhausted as well.

"What the hell is wrong with you anyway, challenging me to a fight? I was in the middle of breakfast!" Naruto shouted angrily.

Suki yelled at Naruto. "You could have declined, you know, Naruto-baka!"

"No way! You know I can never back down from a challenge!"

"I wanted to see how much stronger you had gotten. I knew you'd be strong, but this…" Kiba spoke slowly, still recovering.

"Well, what'd you expect from the future Hokage?" asked Naruto, standing tall.

"Heh…still the same old Hokage stuff, huh? You haven't changed…"

"You're right, I can still kick your ass. I haven't changed a bit."

"You cocky little son of a bitch…" Kiba tried to laugh, but a pain in his side prevented him from doing so.

Naruto offered his hand to Kiba, and he helped him up.

"Head to the hospital. Sakura-chan will be able to fix you up in no time."

"Heh…you didn't beat me up that bad, Naruto. I just need time to recover my chakra."

"You sure?" asked Naruto, "It'll be a lot faster if Sakura-chan fixes you up."

"No, I'm fine."

"Well, okay. If you feel like just sitting here for a while, then be my guest. I'm heading off to see what Sasuke is doing."

"Wait, Naruto, before you go, I needed to tell you something."

"Huh? What?"

"We're all planning on meeting up later today. Me, Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji…everyone wants to see you guys."

"That'll be…nice. I'll see you there, then."

"Wait, Naruto, there's one more thing. I'm not the only one who wanted to fight you again. Be on the lookout for Lee. I think Neji might be itching for a rematch too, but he won't say anything until he's done watching Sasuke."

Naruto waved off the warning as he walked off with Suki.

"Tell them that when they're ready, come and find me."

Kiba stared after Naruto for a moment, but he found his eyes drifting to Suki. He cocked his head to the side.

"How a loser like him ever hooked up with a girl like her is beyond me..."

With his head hanging from a shameful defeat, he climbed atop Akamaru, and the dog limped over to the hospital.

And Naruto and Suki met up with Sasuke (and Neji, and Akiko found them later) and they proceeded to waste the day away by doing nothing in particular together, just waiting for the Kazekage to arrive.

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Kisame was having the time of his life. Shackled and worn out from various attempts from Konoha to beat the whereabouts of Akatsuki out of him, he was helpless to move with blood dripping from his jaw. The guards had told him that he was going to have his chakra sealed tonight along with Itachi and Sasuke, and if that happened, the chances of them getting out of here would be extremely bad. Yes, he knew that it was Itachi and not Zetsu that had been captured along with him, but what the hell was that guy waiting for? He knew that Itachi wouldn't let their chakra be blocked, so his escape attempt was going to happen sometime today. How his partner had managed to keep his identity a secret was beyond Kisame. These Konoha interrogators must be even more stupid than he originally thought. Kisame had plenty of time to think while he sat here by himself in a small prison cell. He thought mainly of Itachi: the man who had murdered his entire clan…his partner. Kisame had known for a while now that Itachi's loyalties did not lie with Akatsuki; only to himself. He knew that soon he would have to choose between following Itachi and Akatsuki. When the time came, Kisame decided that he would choose the side that he believed would win. If he chose Itachi and he failed to overthrow the leader, then Kisame would be killed as a traitor. If he chose Akatsuki and Itachi won, he would be taken down with the rest of the organization. If he chose neither and tried to run away, both of them would track him down. It was a pretty tough spot to be in. But he would deal with it when the time came. Right now, he could only wait until he heard the sounds of Konoha prison guards dying outside his cell.

These dumbasses must be really desperate to find Akatsuki. The smart thing to do would have been to kill both him and Itachi the second they were brought here. Soon they would pay the price, and all Kisame had to do was wait. Then he'd get those bastards back for punching him around. He was sure they wouldn't like it very much when he could punch back.


	29. Rivals

Hello again, everyone. As promised, set up chapters are over for now. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks again for being the awesome people that you are.

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Gaara needed time to meet with Tsunade, and Naruto needed time to think. Once the Kazekage's Suna escort arrived in Konoha, he and Naruto didn't have a chance to talk. In fact, in all the excitement of the spectators gathered at the gate, Naruto had barely managed a nod when Gaara looked in his direction before walking off with a group of elders. Naruto had since separated himself from his group, telling them he just needed some time to himself. Akiko still suspected that he was up to something, and she threw him a warning glance of cautiousness before he left, to which he only smiled. After he was gone, she expressed her concern to Sasuke in hopes that Naruto would confide in his long time friend, and then at least Sasuke might be able to offer some advice. It wasn't that she didn't trust his judgment and leadership, but sometimes, more than sometimes, he rushed into things without thinking and made rash decisions. He was too stubborn and proud for his own good at, and now he seemed to need some help. So Sasuke went after him.

When he caught up to Naruto, he was sitting on a high ledge overlooking the ninja academy. There were several students running laps. Iruka was pushing them hard. As Sasuke approached, he was sure Naruto was aware of his presence, but he didn't turn around. Sasuke stood right behind him, and they both stared down at the young shinobi in training, trying their best to earn the headband. It triggered memories in both of them.

"That one reminds me of you," Naruto said suddenly, pointing to a boy.

The kid had perfect accuracy with his shuriken, and three girls were hovering over him like annoying little flies.

"And that one reminds me of you," Sasuke said back.

He was looking at the boy who was standing off by himself in a corner, being loud and trying to get attention.

"Maybe they'll become friends," said Naruto, laughing softly.

For several minutes they watched, until Iruka took the students back inside to the classroom. A new class took their place out on the training ground.

"Akiko-san is worried about you. She thinks there is something troubling you."

Naruto still hadn't looked at Sasuke since he arrived on the scene. And now, he said nothing in reply.

Sasuke cautioned a guess.

"Is it…Sakura?"

The question went unanswered for several long moments, and they both just stared down at the training students.

"No," Naruto said finally, "I already had my time to think about her; it's out of my system now. It's better for me to finally let go of the whole thing, since it was causing me so much trouble…"

"Maybe you shouldn't let it go so easily."

In a single moment, Sasuke could feel Naruto's disagreement surround them.

"Tell her," he finished.

Was it anger that caused Naruto's body to quake, or was it sorrow, or both? Either way, he still remained silent, his gaze focused on the academy students below.

"It's been a while. Maybe she's gotten over what she used to feel for me."

The thought, the hope, had crossed Naruto's mind so many times he had lost track. But it was a false hope. Any scenario he had conjured in his mind of he and Sakura ending up together was a false hope. He had finally faced reality and rid himself of it, but here was Sasuke, telling him to revive his lost hopes yet again. It made him so…

"There are two of us," Naruto said simply, "and one of her."

"That's exactly why you should tell her. You seem to have already made a decision for her. Maybe you should let her make the decision for herself."

"She will choose you, so I don't see the point in making things more complicated between the three of us than it already is."

Sasuke's voice rose, somewhat challenging; somewhat mocking.

"So you, Uzumaki Naruto, are giving up and have admitted defeat? So I guess that ridiculous oath of pain you made to never run away or lose to me doesn't mean anything. I always knew you never had the guts to follow through."

"This is different, you know that," said Naruto, obviously affected by Sasuke's words, "And what the hell is wrong with you, anyway? We can't encourage each other to go after the same girl. It's madness."

"Wrong. This is no different."

Naruto sighed and nodded at the playful students.

"It's different because you won a long time ago. You love her too, right? Why are you even doing this? You should be off with her instead of wasting your time on me."

"You at least deserve her to know," Sasuke started to say, but at that point, Naruto stood and faced him.

"Don't even go there. It just won't happen, okay!?" he shouted, drawing upward glances from the young kids, "and don't you go off and tell her for me, because you won't be doing either of us any favors!"

Naruto realized that he had moved in on Sasuke, but Uchiha had stood his ground. Naruto's face grew more relaxed, and with a sigh he turned away from Sasuke again.

"Besides, didn't I tell you that this wasn't about Sakura-chan? So let's just stop talking about her…please."

Silence. The mother of all awkward silences seeped in between them. Neither knew what to say to the other, and Sasuke knew that by putting him in this mood that he had ruined all chances of Naruto telling him what was going on. Leaving him alone was probably best.

Naruto heard him leave. What the hell did that bastard think he was doing? Here he was, thinking about the plan for Akatsuki, when Sasuke had to come and remind him of all the reasons he had stayed drenched in the rain that night. Looking over his shoulder to double check that Sasuke was gone, Naruto tried his best to think of anything else but her…

He found his thoughts wandering to Suki and Akiko.

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Gaara bowed as each of the elders passed to exit the conference room. They had discussed the usual things: alliances, trading, monetary issues, threats of attack, the good stuff. The kazekage was grateful that he had a loyal older sister to pay attention and fill him in on the shorter version later. They had all abandoned the room now, all except the Hokage, and Gaara caught her arm before she went out the door.

"Can I speak to you for a moment, please?" he asked her.

They moved on to Tsunade's office, where the two of them could talk privately.

"So, Kazekage, what was so important that you needed to talk to me like this?" she asked.

"It's very important, Tsunade-sama," Gaara began, but before he got any further, Tsunade stopped him.

"Sama?" she laughed, "we share the same title, Gaara-san, no need to call me that. We are equals."

"Well then, Tsunade-san, it's about Akatsuki, more specifically, Naruto."

This seemed to peak her interest, and she leaned forward, her ears intent. Gaara told her everything about the plan they had come up with together, as well as the alternative course of action which he had devised. Tsunade wasn't sure if she particularly favored either of them.

"Naruto is going to go after them whether we like it or not," said Gaara, "we can either let him go alone, or we can make sure he has the backup he needs to take them down."

"So you want Naruto to lead a mixed team of Konoha and Suna shinobi to fight Akatsuki?"

"Well…yes," said Gaara, not sure what to expect from Tsunade.

She sat there a while, saying nothing, but looking at Gaara. He stared back at her, his expression was blank. This close up, he noticed how pretty the Hokage actually was, and his curiosity wandered to how her real self looked. Back in Suna, Naruto had joked to him that she would look like a batty old woman with a hunchback. He almost broke into a small grin when he thought of the impression Naruto did of her, but his face remained neutral. It seemed a small bit of Naruto's sense of humor was rubbing off on him.

"I suppose," came Tsunade finally, "that it's about time we did something about Akatsuki. Even though I worry about him, I can't pretend that Naruto isn't a capable shinobi that can take care of himself, because he is. And if I were to ever put together a strike force to combat Akatsuki, he'd be the first person I'd choose."

Gaara nodded, and at that exact moment, there was a knock at the door. Tsunade opened it to see none other than Naruto and Jiraiya standing there.

"Hey, Granny, I heard that the meeting is over. I need to talk to Gaara."

"Speak of the devil," she said to Gaara, "your timing is perfect, Naruto. We were just talking about you."

"About how great I am?" the boy asked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and let the two of them in.

"The Kazekage filled me in on your little plan."

Naruto looked over at Gaara in disbelief.

"Gaara! I thought…how could you?" He didn't know what else to say in the midst of such a betrayal.

"We're ready to give you our full support," Tsunade told him, taking her seat behind the desk.

"Eh? Really? Gaara that's awesome!" he exclaimed.

Gaara filled him in on the situation, and Naruto gleamed with happiness. They wanted him to take lead a team consisting of two squads: one from Suna, one from Konoha. They would track down Akatsuki. They would eliminate them. Tsunade handed him a list of capable Leaf jounin, but Naruto waved it away and said that he already knew who he wanted.

"Suki, Aki-chan, and Kakashi-sensei," he announced.

Tsunade figured as much.

"From Suna," Gaara said, "of course my brother and sister will go. They are most familiar with you, Naruto, and will respect your commands. They don't have a third member, however, so…"

"That's okay! Ero-sannin can be the third member!"

Tsunade's attention shifted instantly to her old friend.

"You were in on this, Jiraiya?" her eyebrows raised in question.

"Well, I might have promised the boy I'd go with him…" he said with a hearty laugh.

"Very well then. This is an S-ranked mission, Naruto. Are you sure you're ready to lead it?"

Naruto grinned at her, but it wasn't the same boyish grin she had come to know. It was the grin of a wolf about to jump on his prey.

"I've been ready for a long time."

Another unexpected guess arrived at the door, but he didn't knock. Instead, he busted through the door with the utmost urgency. He was breathing heavily, and his chest heaved and fell as he tried to speak.

"Tsunade-sama!" he bellowed, "mass breakout at the prison! It's Akatsuki! They've escaped!"

Hearing the news, Tsunade stood up.

"Looks like our mission is starting earlier than we expected," said Naruto.

"Gaara, go and get Temari and Kankuro. Jiraiya, go get Kakashi-sensei. I'll get Suki and Aki-chan and we'll meet up at the village square."

Jiraiya and Gaara were gone in a flash. Tsunade called for Naruto to wait, but her voice was drowned out by Shizune's.

"Tsunade-sama!"

"I know, I've heard. I need all ANBU squads on full alert, and I need two man jounin teams at each exit of the village. Get me…"

Tsunade was still barking orders, but Naruto had already gone. He was off to find Suki and Akiko. If they were still at the same spot, it would make his search much easier.

Ninja rushed passed him as he went, and he ran into a few criminals eager to enjoy their freedom as well as the Konoha ninja fighting to round them all up. All the confusion played right into Akatsuki's hands. The get away would be easier for them.

He found Akiko and Suki kicking the crap out of some criminal miscreants not too far away from where they had all been hanging out.

"Maki-san!" Akiko called over the shouts that surrounded them, "Sasuke-san! He heard some of the guards saying something about Itachi getting free, and he ran off, and Neji-san went after him!"

A moment of shock came over Naruto, and then realization. He forgot that he was going to tell the girls about their mission, and he ran off in the direction Akiko had pointed in. If Itachi was still alive and Sasuke had gone after him, then he had no time. The two girls ran after him and tried to keep up.

Naruto just kept on running, and soon he came to an injured Neji.

"Where is he?" Naruto cried, kneeling down beside him.

"He kept running, towards the outer wall. That's where he heard Akatsuki was."

"You gonna be okay?" asked Naruto hastily.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Hearing this, Naruto sprinted away, and Suki and Akiko helped Neji up before chasing after him.

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The hospital was lined with patients, and Sakura and the other medical nin were trying their best to see to everyone. Patients were flying in, severely injured in the chaos that was taking place in the village. Through it all, though, Sakura saw Jiraiya entering the hospital. She tried to get to him to ask how things were looking outside, but she couldn't move through the crowd fast enough. She followed him to Kakashi's room, and was about to enter before she heard something interesting.

"You feeling better, Kakashi?" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, I'm fully recovered, but Sakura wanted me to stay one more day in the hospital, just in case."

"Listen, Naruto has chosen you to come on a mission."

The Sannin told Kakashi what had happened down to every detail, and Sakura listened in on every word.

"He's the leader?" she heard Kakashi say, "So you, a Sannin, and me, his old sensei, are going to be taking orders from him? I knew his generation was going to surpass ours sooner or later, but this?"

"There's no time. He wants everyone to meet in the village square."

But then, Sakura heard something that sounded like tapping on the window. Shadows under the door moved as one of them opened it.

"Naruto!" they said in unison.

"Nope, just a clone," said Naruto, "the real me is chasing after Sasuke. Itachi's alive. Sasuke overpowered Neji and went after him. I'm heading to the outer wall…I might be there already…to try to stop him. If you guys are ready, I'll lead the way. I sent a clone to Gaara, too."

Sakura heard three pairs of feet take off, and she opened the door. She didn't like leaving the other medics, but if Sasuke and Naruto needed her, she was going to be there. She made her way through the open window to catch them.

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Sasuke would give just about anything right now in exchange for the ability to run faster. Itachi was alive. That was the only thing in the entire world that mattered right now. He had thought it was over, thought his clan had been avenged; but he had been wrong. He didn't have his katana at his side, which was a big part of his fighting style, but that didn't make a difference. He tried to will his legs to move faster. But all of a sudden he was forced to stop, a kunai landing at his feet. Impatiently, he turned to identify his attacker. It was Naruto. How had he caught up to him so fast? Neji had slowed him down a bit, but Naruto shouldn't have been able to catch him. Nevertheless, here he was, and he jumped in front of Sasuke, blocking his path.

"Move," said Sasuke.

"You're going to be outside city walls pretty soon, Sasuke. Turn back, you're not supposed to leave."

"Move, now."

"No way," was the response.

"Naruto! Get the hell out of the way!"

Sasuke tried to start running again, but Naruto threw another kunai that sped past his face.

"And where do you think you're going? If you leave now, you'll be in violation of your sentence, and you won't be able to come back."

"But Itachi-"

"I know about Itachi. Is it worth throwing your life away…again?"

"Yes."

Naruto clinched his fists. He was to rip Sasuke's head off if he kept on talking like that. Suki and Akiko caught up to them, but they stood back, watching silently.

"I won't let you do it. You won't take a single step outside this village."

"I'm going. You can't stop me."

Their voices were foul now, their old rivalry burning brighter than ever. Things were about to get ugly, and the two girls looked on in concern.

Sasuke was already thinking strategy. While Naruto was being an idiot and blocking his way, Itachi was moving further and further away. He had to try to end this fast, and he figured that would be Naruto's game plan as well. The one thing he expected from Naruto was that he was going to do something unexpected. Distractions, deception, endurance, and a single, powerful attack was how Naruto won his battles. Sasuke had to throw something different at him this time; he couldn't let Naruto get into his rhythm here. Sasuke didn't know how long they stood there, unmoving, but he was the first to take action.

He charged full speed at Naruto and rammed his fist into his face as hard as he could. The force of the explosion was enough to send Sasuke hurtling through the air. He landed on his back. It was a shadow clone, of course, and Naruto had set the explosive on its back to go off when it was hit. He was taking advantage of Sasuke's desperate haste. Sasuke knew better than to rush in recklessly against someone as unpredictable as Naruto. For the moment, he was going to have to calm down. He got to his feet, took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the pain in his side that resulted from the small explosion.

Another Naruto stood I front of him. Whether this was the real one or not, Sasuke didn't know. He checked both the kunai that Naruto had thrown earlier. They could easily be clones he had placed to trap him. Now, with the sharingan in full effect, Sasuke took his stance. They re-engaged the staring match yet again, during which neither of them said or did anything.

"Sasuke, we don't have time to fight," said Naruto, "back off, and I'll go after Itachi."

Both of them were unaware of the crowd that had gathered. Temari and Kankuro, Jiraiya and Kakashi, and Sakura was nearby as well.

"Loser. You'll never know what it's like!"

It was Sasuke who charged again, extending his chidori from his hand and destroying the shadow clone with lightning quick precision.

He didn't see where the other two Naruto's came from. He tried to take one out with an elbow, but it ducked. Unfortunately for Naruto, Sasuke's sharingan followed his movement all the way, and the clone was struck with a well placed kick. The remaining Naruto, the real one, knew better than to duke it out with Sasuke one on one and flipped backwards out of danger.

"Hmm…seems that Naruto got better in taijutsu, and it looks like the survivability of his clones has gone up," commented Kakashi.

"Yeah, but against the sharingan it doesn't really make that much of a difference," said Jiraiya.

Sasuke couldn't give Naruto time to use any techniques. He stayed on him, and Naruto's attempts to dodge were futile.

"Sasuke is a taijutsu user's nightmare. Naruto's got to do something fast," said Jiraiya.

"I'm sure he's got something up his sleeve. He always does," stated Kakashi.

Naruto used a replacement technique to distance himself from Sasuke. Now that he had the time, Naruto made his hand seals. Sasuke watched them closely.

Horse. Tiger. Pig….

He hadn't seen Naruto use this jutsu before. But whatever it was, Sasuke would be able to cancel it out.

Dog. Rat. Snake….

"Rasengan!"

A voice cried out behind Sasuke. He barely dodged the light blue orb of chakra that was aimed at him, and he hit the now off balance Naruto with a clean punch. He had fallen for Naruto's trap. He had started making hand signs because he knew that Sasuke would be paying close attention to them. It had all been a distraction, though, to provide cover and allow a clone to sneak up on Sasuke. And it had almost worked. The bad thing now was that Sasuke had no idea how many more clones Naruto had waiting out there to hit him with rasengan at any time. He must have made them beforehand.

"Fuuton! Kazetenshu!" (Wind element: God of Wind)

Sasuke had taken his eyes off of the real Naruto, and now an unknown jutsu was coming at him. He realized, then, that Naruto hadn't been distracting him in order to try with the rasengan, the rasengan attack was done so that Sasuke would take his eyes from the seals that Naruto was forming so that it wouldn't be copied.

"Not too bad," said Kakashi, impressed.

Naruto stretched his arms behind his back, and then swung them forward, clapping his hands together. The resulting shockwave was invisible to the naked eye, but with the sharingan, Sasuke saw it: it was a massive, whirling ball of chakra, and the force of it carved a ditch in the ground as it raged toward Sasuke at high speed.

"Hmm…a little bit much though, don't you think?" said Jiraiya, surveying the jutsu's potential damage capacity.

"Oh, they're always like this," said Kakashi, "soon they'll be eating ramen together again."

Sasuke had formed seals of his own, and Kakashi saw that they were the exact signs required to perform chidori, only one of the seals was different. The energy that formed on Sasuke's hand was fire, not lightning.

"Well, would you look at that," said Jiraiya, "nature manipulation on the jutsu you taught him, Kakashi."

Sasuke punched his arm, laced with fire, into the oncoming attack. He could feel the jutsu scatter, popping like a balloon and sending energy in all directions.

Naruto looked a little surprised that his technique didn't hit.

"That jutsu," called Sasuke, "basically, it's just a huge rasengan that you can send out at high velocity. Good thing fire is strong against wind."

Naruto looked absolutely upset.

"Damnit," he said softly, but everyone could still hear, "that was pretty cool…"

For a moment their eyes met and they grinned at each other, but it went by so fast the others weren't even sure it had actually happened.

"They're going to be wanting to finish up soon, they've lost too much time already."

"Yeah. Naruto will probably try that new thing I taught him."

"Don't count Sasuke out, though, he must have a plan. He is at a disadvantage though, with no kusanagi, no kunai, no nothing."

Kakashi and Jiraiya went back and forth as the two fighters rethought their plan of attack.

Sakura couldn't just stand back anymore. One of them was going to get hurt, and she wasn't going to stand by and watch it happen.

"Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, why don't you stop commenting on the fight like it's a sporting event and stop them!?! This is getting really dangerous!"

Kakashi was seemingly unsurprised by her sudden appearance.

"I don't think I can stop them as easily as I did when they fought on the roof," admitted Kakashi, "this is between them, and only they can resolve it."

Sakura looked from him to her two team mates, who were about to rip each other's heads off. What if Sasuke won? Were they going to let him go? Those two were supposed to be the adults here, but they weren't taking this situation very seriously.

"But-"

"Sakura-chan!" called Naruto, "Don't interfere. But when it's all over, please take Sasuke to the hospital. He's going to be really messed up."

Snakes appeared, slithering up and down Sasuke's sleeve. The time to strike was now. If Naruto had time, he would set up a clever plan to end this. Sasuke had to stay on him. The snakes struck out with incredible speed, wrapping around Naruto's arms and legs. Genjutsu. It was Naruto's weakness, and Sasuke's strength. Once he stopped Naruto's movement, getting him trapped in an illusion was all too easy. They all watched as Naruto's body went limp, his mind and body enslaved by Sasuke. The snakes unwrapped themselves and found their way back into Sasuke's sleeve.

"Hmm…what now though, Sasuke?"

Kakashi was the one to ask the question.

"If you run off again, who's to say that one of us won't dispel your genjutsu? Then Naruto will just chase after you again."

Sasuke didn't answer; the chidori did it for him. He walked over to Naruto's body.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried, "please, don't!"

"I won't hit any vital areas," he replied, "so don't worry."

But before Sakura could argue back, Naruto's eyes sprung open, dark red and full of fury. His punch came like a brick wall, landing Sasuke on his back.

"Don't-you-EVER!" Naruto yelled menacingly, "You've got some nerve making me see that!"

He was breathing heavily now, his face twisted in demonic fury. He tossed a kunai at Sasuke, who caught it.

"I'd have liked it better if you stabbed me in the face with that."

After helping Sasuke up, he backtracked twenty paces and drew his own kunai.

"Do you remember our first fight, Sasuke, up on the rooftop?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember what you said when I asked you to put on your forehead protector?"

Sasuke repeated the words as he remembered them, "You won't be able to put a single scratch on my forehead anyway."

"That's right."

Naruto still had his back turned.

"We're running out of time, and I know that neither of us wants to waste all our chakra here."

The kunai was twirling on his finger.

"Aim for the forehead," he said, "whoever's comes off will be the loser, and will have to stay here, get his chakra sealed, and go on a date with Sakura-chan ("Hey, what?" came Sakura's voice). The winner will lead this mission and become famous for destroying the Akatsuki organization."

"Hmph. You're already making assumptions that I'm going to lose, loser?"

"After I win, you'll have to stop calling me that!"

Naruto's feet shifted in the dirt, ready to go.

"You wish! You're going to be an even bigger loser after this!"

Sasuke readied himself.

"So we have a deal then?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah."

Naruto looked across at his rival. His eyes were no longer that of an Uchiha's. They were Sasuke's eyes, cool and reserved.

Sasuke looked across at his rival. His eyes were no longer that of a demon's. They were Naruto's eyes, passionate, determined.

Their feet made no noise as they left the ground. The only sound that was heard was the clash of metal and the small thud of dirt when a Konoha headband landed on the ground a second later.

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Itachi looked back the way he had come. Smoke was rising in more than one place in the Leaf Village, and he could see the place where Kisame had torn a whole in the wall.

"They sure don't make Konoha shinobi like they used to," he said to Kisame, "their resistance was pitiful."

"Hah!" Kisame laughed, "I recognized one of the guys that tortured me. I bashed his face against the wall!"

Even though Konoha had once been his home, Itachi felt no remorse as he stared at it.

"You think that kyuubi kid will come?" Kisame asked him.

"He'll follow us," said Itachi, "if I know anything in this world for sure, it's that Naruto-kun will definitely follow us."

"_I'm counting on you_," Itachi thought, "_Uzumaki Naruto."_

-xxx-

Kabuto had watched the chaos unfold, and now he watched while ANBU captured the remaining criminals. Most of those that remained were higher ranked, more dangerous rogues, but against an organized team, the fugitives stood no chance.

"_Very good_," he said, not sure if he had said it aloud or not, "_very good."_

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Sakura stood next to her team mate. His head was hung low, the reality of defeat still seeping in. Her other team mate was chatting with the others, and it looked like they were about to leave. Kakashi had summoned Pakkun, and Jiraiya had summoned his tracker toad.

"Alright, everyone," he called, "let's move."

"Naruto," Sasuke called him, "sorry about the genjutsu."

Naruto's sad smile made him feel even more guilty.

"Don't worry about it, Sasuke. Even if it was only for a minute, I…"

Naruto looked from Sasuke to Sakura and gave them a smile.

"Sasuke! Don't forget the date; it was part of our deal!"

With that, he turned and signaled for everyone to move out. Sasuke, his forehead protector clutched firmly in his grip, could only watch as Naruto, his cloak flapping behind him, ran to fight Itachi. He could only watch as his friend moved further and further away, until finally he vanished from eyesight. And Sasuke still stared after him, even after he was undoubtedly much too far for even a Hyuuga to find. Although bitter from his loss, he couldn't help but feel overwhelming respect for Naruto. If Sasuke himself couldn't kill Itachi, then he wouldn't want any other person to do it besides Naruto.

"That guy…" Sasuke said, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Um, Sasuke-kun? What did you show Naruto in that genjutsu. He seemed really mad…"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he said, and Sakura frowned at being left in the dark again.

Sasuke couldn't tell her that it had been an image of Naruto and Sakura happily married and enjoying a wonderful day at the park with their kids.


	30. Love amongst War

Hey, how's everyone doing? Well, once again we're here at a new chapter, so thanks, as always.

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Sasuke was used to staying in an empty house, but Sakura had been dropping by quite often. Today was one of those days. He figured that she was worried about a certain someone.

It had been almost two days since Naruto had run off with the others. He could be mixing it up with Itachi this very moment. Sakura sighed. Didn't that fool realize the consequences of always rushing into a fight? There were people who were worried about him, and he didn't seem to care about their emotions at all. Her sigh had drawn Sasuke's attention.

"Don't even worry about him," he said, "Naruto's going to be back, annoying the hell out of both of us before you know it. Then you'll wish he was still gone."

Sakura turned to him.

"You two know each other so well, don't you? I wish I understood some of the things you know about each other. "

"We've been rivals ever since we were kids, and there's no better way to get to know someone than by fighting them. You learn what drives them, you learn their strategies, and their strengths and weaknesses. You discover things you wouldn't normally find out because a person's true character comes out when they fight. In Naruto's case, I understand more than anyone why he keeps getting up, no matter how hard I punch him."

She sighed again. To tell the truth, she was a little jealous of the close bond they shared with each other. She wasn't even half as close to them as they were to each other.

"Are you telling me I have to fight you guys in order to know you better?"

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a match for you now. Even if I still have the sharingan, I can barely mold enough chakra to perform a simple transformation."

Saskue didn't need much chakra in order to carry out D and C ranked missions, after all.

"Hmph. It's your guys's fault, anyway," she grunted, "you don't tell me anything; and when something's wrong, you act like everything is okay. And then only Naruto knows what's going on with you and vice versa."

She was sitting across the table from him, determined for some answers.

"Well," Sasuke said, turning away from her turquoise gaze, "he doesn't want you to worry, kind of like what you're doing right now."

She gave up for now and leaned back in her chair. She knew about his past; about how the villagers either stared scornfully or ignored him completely. He had no parents; no friends. And then, when he was looking for someone his age to connect with, she had shut him down. It was ironic, though, that she never really realized until now that back then, everything she was thinking or too afraid to say, Naruto said it for her. They thought alike, and if Sakura had given him a chance, they could have been friends much sooner.

"It's just that…about your pasts…you two have had it rough on your own, but now that you have people who care about you, you still think you need to do things by yourselves. I just don't get it. You know I'd help either of you without hesitation, right?"

Sasuke gave a small, appreciative smile.

"Yes, he and I know that, and it gives us great comfort to know that we have someone like you. But he also doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for him. He isn't the kind of person to make excuses for himself because of the way he grew up. It's a masculine thing, I guess."

"Well, whatever, I just hope he's okay," she said.

"Okay? Did you see the look on his face? He couldn't wait to fight Akatsuki. Knowing him, he's probably having the time of his life right now."

Sasuke was tapping his finger on the table. Was he nervous? Sakura had never seen him like this. But if she asked what was going on, he'd probably just say "nothing" like usual.

"Um…Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Well…w-what are you doing tonight?"

Was this real? Was this Sasuke Uchiha, nervous and red-faced right in front of her?

"Nothing, really. Why?"

"Well uh…after I get done with any missions and you're done with work at the hospital, maybe we could…I dunno…go get some dinner together or something."

He was asking her to dinner now?

"Of course, I'd like that a lot," she replied, her heart leaping on the inside.

"Because well, the deal I made with Naruto…I have to take you out on a date…"

"Not that I'm doing it just because of that," he said after seeing her disappointed look, "but…I did kind of promise… he's trying to set us up…and just like you I, um…wanna get to know you better since I kind of shut you down all those times…and I even knocked you out that one time…sorry about that….I was just so focused on Itachi that I didn't take the time to see anything else around me…"

He stopped talking as soon as he realized that he was rambling and Sakura was giggling. Asking a girl out was definitely new to him, even if it was someone he had known for a long time. And her sitting there smiling at him didn't help much, either. But he laughed too; at his own nervousness.

"Well, I've got to go see the Hokage and see what kind of lame babysitting mission she's got for me this time."

"Yeah, and I've got to get back to the hospital. I'm doing some training with Shizune-senpai today."

"I guess I'll see you later then," said Sasuke, standing.

"Yeah."

They both headed towards the door, almost bumping into each other several times. Once they were finally out, they headed in opposite directions. Sakura gave another small giggle, turning to look back at Sasuke as he walked away. But when she did, she found Sasuke looking back at her, and they both faced forward quickly, not daring to look back again, but still smiling as they walked.

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"They are coming," he said, "and they are looking to end us once and for all. But we can finish it here."

"But what about the rings? We haven't found them yet!" said Kakuzu.

"The nine tails is everything. The rings are important, but nothing compared to the kyuubi."

"So how many of them are there? Should we be concerned?" Kakuzu asked his master.

"The copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake, and the legendary sannin Jiraiya are with him. Along with the kyuubi himself and four other jounin level shinobi, their skill shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Hmph. They will all be sacrifices to the great Lord," said Hidan. "Do we have a plan? Should we separate them or just attack all at once?"

"There are too many ninja involved. If we were all to fight in the same area at the same time, we'd just be getting in each other's way. We need to break them up into groups, and get the jinchuuriki by himself."

"How do you propose we do that?" asked Kakuzu.

"I have a plan. We need to separate Kakashi from Jiraiya. We don't want them teamed up or anywhere near each other. And as for the Uzumaki kid…leave him to me."

The members of Akatsuki looked at each other in surprise. Their leader had never offered to fight before. All they knew was that he was stronger than all of them, and there was no way that the kyuubi jinchuuriki would stand a chance.

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Sasuke groaned as he searched the river for trash. He, an Uchiha, one of the last remaining members of Konoha's greatest clan, had been reduced to doing grunt work. He had brought it upon himself, though, and he'd have to deal with it for now. He wasn't paying very much attention to anything around him, so he didn't see Lee training at the side of the river. He only became aware of Lee when he called his name.

"So this is what they have you doing now, huh?" said Lee, taking a small break.

"Yeah. River's need cleaning, I suppose, and somebody has got to do it. But you're out of the hospital already? Is it really okay for you to be doing such intense training?"

-xxx-

"_I am glad I caught up to you, Sasuke-kun. Before your chakra is sealed, I would like to fight you."_

"_Lee-san?" said Sakura, "right now?"_

_Sasuke just stared. "I swear, you're just like that other loser, Naruto. Let's go."_

_Rock Lee took his signature stance, one arm behind his back, one held out in front of him. _

"_Sasuke-kun!" pleaded Sakura, "are you sure this is a good idea?"_

"_The man wants a fight, Sakura. It would be rude of me to back down."_

"_But…but he can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu! Please, go easy on him."_

_Lee's eyes narrowed. "I am hurt, Sakura-san. Please do not underestimate me."_

"_But Lee," she said, "I know when it comes to taijutsu you're the best there is, but Sasuke has the sharingan! He's the worst possible match for someone like you!"_

"_Yes, I know. There is no way a loser like me could ever hope to stand up against a genius from the Uchiha clan. Is that what you are trying to tell me, Sakura-san?"_

_Sakura was sorry for opening her mouth._

"_Well then, I have just added you to the list of people that I will prove wrong; that even I, someone who was born with no natural talent, can be a splendid ninja!"_

"_Like I said," grinned Sasuke, "you losers are all alike." _

"_Konoha Senpuu!" _

_Lee came at him with a whirlwind kick that was easily dodged. He sailed over Sasuke's head. Landing and quickly shifting his feet, he went at Sasuke again. His speed was as impressive as ever, but Sasuke read his movements down to the smallest detail. Left jab: dodged. Right uppercut: blocked. Spinning back kick: missed. Lee flipped over him and came with another combination. A low sweep kick: Sasuke jumped. A high roundhouse: Sasuke took hold of his leg. Snakes shot up his arm, slithering up Lee's leg. Lee took out his kunai, throwing it at Sasuke's chest, forcing him to dodge and let go of his leg. _

"_Even with these eyes…your taijutsu is as impressive as ever."_

"_It is just as I expected from you too, Sasuke-kun. A true genius."_

"_Gah!" wailed Sakura! "It's the exact same as with Naruto! Don't use techniques that could kill each other!" _

"_Heh. You're exactly right. This guy is a lot like Naruto. Going easy and holding back would be the highest insult I could give him."_

"_Thank you for understanding, Sasuke-kun."_

"_You won't be thanking me for going all out in a minute," called Sasuke, forming his signs, "Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"_

_Lee jumped to the side. Sasuke followed. He punched for the face, but Lee blocked and countered, using his extreme speed to get behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned just in time to duck under another Konoha Senpuu, and while Lee was still in the air he rained down punches on Sasuke from above. It was truly impressive. Even with the sharingan, the speed of Lee's attacks rivaled his own, and they didn't leave much time for Sasuke to fight back. He could read Lee's movements and avoid damage from his attacks, but Lee was such a hand to hand master that Sasuke could only find a couple holes in his technique, and he was too busy avoiding kicks and punches to capitalize on those openings. Contrary to Naruto, Lee didn't rely on tricks and the art of deception. When you were in a fight with Rock Lee, you were in for a straight out brawl._

_The snakes lashed out again, and Lee used his kunai to hack them in two before they entangled him. They both jumped back, taking their stances. It was obvious that they weren't going to be able to hit each other in taijutsu. Unfortunately for Lee, taijutsu was all he had. But Sasuke had advanced ninjutsu and genjutsu at his disposal. If he only had his katana, he could use it to channel chidori into Lee's body and paralyze him in order to stop his high speed movement. This was going to take a little more time…_

_He deflected Lee's next taijutsu assault with chidori nagashi. It forced Lee to back away and attack from afar with shuriken. They missed, of course, but proved to be a good distraction as Lee moved in yet again. But just before he got to Sasuke, Lee disappeared. Sasuke knew what was coming next. Lee had opened the first gate and was about to use his lotus technique. He was able to block the powerful kick, but the force of it knocked him backwards. He came again with a series of strikes, and Sasuke could only cover up and back away. Sasuke's arms took even more damage as Lee pounded him backwards. He didn't notice the paper bomb that Lee had set on his clothes in that last exchange until it was too late. It exploded, and Lee hurried to finish Sasuke while he was open for attack. But he stopped dead; it was a replacement. A fireball came in from overhead, and Lee jumped back. But that was exactly what Sasuke wanted him to do. The fire vanished, revealing several shuriken flying in at Lee. While Sasuke landed, Lee deflected the shuriken with his knife, but Sasuke had already attached his special wire to them. With the shuriken anchored firmly in the ground, he pulled the wires back, trapping Lee. _

"_You've fallen into my trap. You have lost." _

"_Do not count me out just yet."_

_The trapped ninja began to glow a greenish color, and his skin turned a pale orange. One by one, he opened the gates._

"_Lee-san! You can't be serious about opening the gates just for a sparring match! What are you thinking!"_

_When the fifth gate was open, a simple tug of his arm broke through the wires. This wasn't good for Sasuke at all. At this point, He could barely keep up with Lee's movement with the sharingan, and there was no way his body could react to such inhuman speed. Sasuke was hit square in the face. But then, something happened. The force of the punch knocked Sasuke's head _off_ of his shoulders. It rolled onto the ground with a gruesome thud. _

"_Ahhhh!" Sakura cried, running over to Sasuke. _

"_I…didn't mean to…"_

_Sakura turned on him._

"_What did you think would happen, using the hidden lotus like that?" she cried, pulling out her kunai._

"_You've killed him!" _

"_But…I…"_

_But suddenly his world went black. When he came to, he was in a hospital bed. The moment his eyes opened, Sakura stood and shouted at him._

"_I told you not to open the gates, you fool! Look at what kind of condition you're in! If you weren't in such bad shape I would pound you!"_

"_I apologize, Sakura-san. Perhaps I did go a little overboard…" _

_Sasuke was sitting next to her. _

"_Sasuke-kun? But then…that means…"_

"_That's right," Sasuke explained, "it was genjutsu. While you were opening the gates, I trapped you in an illusion. Then all I had to do was wait until your technique ran out, and then the lotus made you do the damage to your own body. And when that happened, you blacked out from the pain."_

"_I see. So then I have lost. I have fallen short yet again." _

"_You did well, though. You have nothing to be ashamed of at all," Sasuke reassured him._

"_That's right," added Sakura, "and I'm sorry for doubting your ability, Lee-san. You were great."_

_Lee's face seemed to brighten slightly. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun, Sakura-san."_

-xxx-

"Oh, I am fine," replied Lee. "I'm training so that I will be in top shape when Naruto-kun comes back!"

"Geez. You're already looking for another fight?" Sasuke found another piece of trash lodged between two rocks.

"Yes. I heard that Kiba-kun lost to Naruto-kun."

"Is that so?" asked Sasuke. He hadn't heard about that.

"Yeah. Now if you excuse me, I must get back to my training."

"Yeah, and I got to get back to my mission. River ain't gonna clean itself, ya know."

Sasuke walked further downstream, picking up aluminum cans and plastic bags as he went. Rock Lee went back to kick an even bigger dent into a nearby tree. Sasuke watched him. If that guy could use ninjutsu and still had the taijutsu skills he had, he would definitely be a feared shinobi. He was a lot like Naruto, Rock Lee, and he had earned his respect all the same. Casting a scornful look at the blazing sun, he splashed some of the cool running water onto his face before continuing his all important service to the village.

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Naruto and his team were resting in the shade of a large tree, its branches spreading out like a spider web above them. Naruto hadn't wanted to stop, but Kakashi had asked the all important question: did they have a plan. He hadn't really thought about any plan of action, he just figured they would bust down the door and start knocking heads. But he knew that they didn't want to get scattered and be forced to fight one on one battles. They had to at least stay in groups of two or three to be safe. If they got separated, they could get picked off one by one if Akatsuki attacked in pairs. He broke them down into groups: Kakashi with Kankuro and Akiko, Naruto with Temari and Suki. He thought it would be a good idea to have a long range fighter in Temari at his side, since long ranged fights weren't really his specialty. He knew Jiraiya preferred to work alone, and he could take care of himself.

"Can I ask you something, Naruto?" the old Sannin asked.

"Yeah, what?"

"What made you change your mind? I mean, about Suki and Akiko here. You made it pretty clear that you wanted to keep them out of the loop because this mission would be too dangerous."

Naruto looked over at them. They had heard their names and were now waiting for his answer.

"Well, at first I didn't want to take them along because it would be dangerous. I've already lost 3 Rakugosha members to Akatsuki, and I wanted to do anything to ensure that I kept these two safe."

He was looking straight at the both of them.

"But I realized that there's no one else I trust more to have my back out here than you guys. We're a team, and we always will be."

"You made the right choice, Maki-san. Like you said, we're a team. We stick together, we fight together, we die together," said Akiko.

"Right," said Naruto, "but if either of you even thinks about dying out here, I'll kill you. And that goes for every single one of you."

Naruto drew his kunai and pricked his finger. He let a few drops of blood land in his other hand.

"In fact, we're all making a promise right now."

He handed the kunai to Suki. She looked at him questioningly, but followed suit. Naruto caught a drop of her blood in his hand. The knife was passed around the circle until Naruto had blood from everyone. It had all mixed into one small puddle in his hand. He held it out in the middle of all of them.

"This is it; a promise made in blood. We're all getting out of this alive."

They all nodded, and Naruto took the blood and smeared it across his cheeks, two red streaks like war paint.

"You know that's kind of gross, right, Baka-kun?"

"It's proof of our promise. The rest of us will never forgive you if you break it," he said firmly to all of them.

"Hmph. Well, that was an interesting little pre-battle ritual," said Jiraiya.

"I'd say. It's new for us," stated Temari, "but it was kind of cool, Naruto."

"Well, let's go! Those Akatsuki guys aren't going to beat themselves up, you know!" Naruto ordered.

They were off again, chasing the most dangerous criminals in the history of shinobi. This couldn't be any more personal for Naruto. These guys had been after him for a long time. They had taken out Baine, Sato, and Takahiro. Itachi was there. Naruto was going to make sure that each and every one of them paid for what they had done.

Kakashi ran alongside Naruto, curious as to what that whole promise thing had been about. He and Jiraiya had already sworn to Naruto that they would follow his orders unconditionally.

"Was that little thing you did back there to motivate everyone, or was it to reassure yourself?" he asked.

His blue eyes were frozen in place, keeping his focus; unwavering as they stared out at what was to come.

"I don't know," he replied, "maybe a little of both."

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The day seemed to drag on; Sasuke's mission seemed to take forever, and it didn't help that he was bored out of his mind. Sakura's day at the hospital was also going annoyingly slow. Her training with Shizune had been canceled because of an important meeting that she had to attend. No one had checked into the hospital today, and she had nothing to do. She wished that there was a medical ninjutsu to cure herself of extreme boredom. The afternoon rolled by slowly, and finally her shift was over. After going home and freshening up, she headed to Naruto's house to meet up with Sasuke. He was sitting by himself when she knocked at the door, and they both sat in the same seats they had been in that morning.

"How was your mission?" she asked.

"Lively," he told her.

"Well um…where do you want to go?" Sakura couldn't stand the feeling in her stomach; the nervousness and anticipation.

"I don't know. I'm not that hungry. Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with Ichiraku, I guess," smiled Sakura.

"You're right. You can never go wrong with that place."

"True," said Sakura, "but I don't know how Naruto eats there almost every day. It's good, but I would get sick of it."

Sasuke stood. "Shall we go, then?"

She nodded and followed him out. Neither of them knew exactly how they should be acting. It was a first for both of them, and they tried to think through everything they were going to say, trying to foresee if the other would think that what they said was awkward or dumb.

"Uh…it was a pretty nice day today, right Sasuke."

"Yeah. How was work?"

"Not bad."

"Oh. That's good."

That was about the only things they said to each other on the way to the ramen stand. When they got there and sat down, the chef took a look at them.

"Well, well, you two are here early."

"You were…expecting us?" asked Sakura.

"What? Uh…no, no of course not? How on earth would we ever know something like that, huh Ayame?"

His daughter laughed nervously. "What my father meant was that we usually don't get customers at this time. You guys are a little early for dinner. Yeah! That's what he meant! Hahaha!"

They were acting strangely, but Sasuke didn't make too much of it.

"Miso Ramen please," he requested.

"Hakata for me, please," said Sakura.

"Sure! No problem, coming right up!" the chef enthused.

He made their meals and Ayame served them.

They ate side by side, all the time thinking of something to say to each other.

"_Say something…anything…" _thought Sasuke.

"Um…so you look really pretty today, Sakura."

"Oh! Thank you," she blushed, brushing her bangs away from her face.

"Hey Sakura, can you summon slugs?" His question seemed a bit odd considering the moment.

"Yeah, Tsunade-shishou taught me. Why do you ask?"

"We're like the second generation of Sannin," he noted, "Naruto has been trained by Jiraiya, you by Tsunade, and me by Orochimaru."

"I guess you're right," she said, "maybe we'll be legendary ninja too. Naruto would like that, now wouldn't he?"

"Hmph, he sure would. And we'd have to listen to him brag about it."

Sakura laughed. "You know, when I look at him, I don't see an elite ninja. Despite his ability and the reputation he's built for himself, he's always just been Naruto to me. Sometimes it's hard to believe that the goofball we hang around with all the time is actually a skilled shinobi."

"I know exactly what you mean. Every time I watch him fight, I think back to the time when we took the bell test. He fell into every single one of Kakashi's traps."

"Not to mention the 'thousand years of death' jutsu," Sakura laughed.

"Heh…yeah that'll be a story you and I can tell at dinner parties to everyone else."

For some reason, they didn't feel nervous at all while talking about (and making fun of) their friend. Conversation about him came as easily as breathing for them. Finally, after Sakura had gone through two bowls and Sasuke through four, they announced to Ayame and the old chef that they were done. Sasuke, being the male, of course, reached into his pocket for money. But when he handed it to Ayame, she shook her head.

"This meal is on us, guys. So please don't worry about it and enjoy the rest of your night."

"What?" asked Sasuke, "no, I can pay for it, it's no big deal. How are you two going to make money?"

"No, no, we're fine," called the old man, "just go out and have a good time, you two!"

Sasuke eyed them suspiciously. "Okay, what's really going on here?"

Sakura wanted to know too.

"Well," started Ayame, "Naruto-kun dropped by here a couple of days ago and told us that you two would definitely come here to eat. He said that whatever you guys ordered, he would pay for it when he got back from his mission."

Both team mates shook their heads. Sakura smiled, but Sasuke did not.

"I can pay for it," insisted Sasuke, "so here, take the money."

"He thought you might get stubborn," said the chef, "so he told me to say this: 'what the hell are you doing, wasting your time trying to pay for this meal? Hurry up and continue your date with Sakura-chan!'"

" Tch. So he set up everything, then," sighed Sasuke.

"Well you know, we shouldn't let all of his preparation go to waste…" said Sakura coyly.

So they left without paying, and Sakura seemed to be having a good time. Sasuke, however, was feeling a pang of guilt in his side. Naruto had gone through all this trouble, just for them. It must have been hard for him. And now, here he was getting closer to Sakura while he was out there fighting. Sasuke didn't like it at all.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke had stopped walking, staring out at the sun that had begun to disappear behind the mountains. Naruto had made it clear that he didn't want Sakura to know…

"Nothing," he said, "nothing at all."

Sakura held her hand out timidly, and Sasuke took a hold of it as he walked toward her, and they were off down the street hand in hand. If Naruto went through this much for them, then Sasuke wasn't going to put his suffering to waste. He was going to make this work.

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It was chaos, and it happened in an instant. Pakkun barely had time to shout a warning before they were attacked. Black robes everywhere. Kunai flying inches from his face. He yelled out to the others to stay together, but the ambush had been so sudden that their formation fell apart. "Stay in formation!" he shouted, "And stick with your groups!" but different jutsu were being unleashed all around him. He found Jiraiya, and the Sannin grabbed him.

"We've got to get you out of here, kid!" he yelled, "your plan was good, but I can't let you get captured now. We've got to fall back and regroup."

"If you're forgetting, I'm in charge of this mission!" Naruto yelled, "and if you think I'm leaving everyone else back there then you're wrong!"

He struggled against the stronger man's arms, but he couldn't shake loose.

"Let me go! We can go back and kick their asses!"

"No."

Jiraiya had sworn to follow his orders. Whoever this was, he wasn't the toad sannin.

"Alright, fine! But I can run on my own two legs, you know! Put me down!"

The grip on him loosened, and Naruto was allowed to run on his own.

-xxx-

Suki was running as fast as she could, trying to escape the battle. She had heard Naruto's shouting to stick together, but their enemies were attacking so relentlessly that they didn't have the time to recompose themselves and strike back. She found herself running alongside Pakkun and Kakashi.

"What in the hell happened?" she wailed

"I don't know. Somehow they masked their presence even to Pakkun, and we ran right into them."

"Where is everyone else?" she asked desperately.

"I don't know."

When they felt like they had run far enough, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Pakkun! Can you tell where the others are?"

"I can't tell for sure!" said the small dog.

But Jiraiya jumped down from out of nowhere, Temari with him, carrying an injured Kankuro.

"So that didn't go as well as planned," said Jiraiya, rubbing his shoulder.

"No kidding," said Kakashi.

Akiko and Suki came running through the trees, following Jiraiya's tracker toad.

"Ah, so he found you, did he?" said Jiraiya, dismissing it, "good."

"Huh? Where's Naruto?" asked Suki.

"I don't know," Kakashi answered, "I tried to keep an eye on him, but I had other things to pay attention to…"

"The only thing we can do for now is rest up before they find us again."

-xxx-

Naruto had run with this guy far enough. He threw his kunai at the imposter's feet.

"Okay, who the hell are you?" he demanded.

The man grinned and undid the transformation.

"So you noticed. Very well then."

Naruto could tell by looking in the man's spiral eyes: he was dangerous.

"My name is Paine. Pleasure to meet you, kyuubi jinchuuriki."

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto," the boy replied, "and sorry, but it isn't much of a pleasure to meet you at all."

"Hmph. I've heard a lot about you from Itachi, and you killed Deidara. Let's see if you live up to your reputation, little boy."


	31. A Test of Determination

Hey everyone. Just wanted to thank everyone who reveiwed for the past few chapters because it really means a lot and you guys are awesome. Your comments are so nice that it even makes me, a known slacker/procrastinator/person who hates to do anything, get motivated to write and try my best as to not disappoint you guys.

Heh...anyway I was reading over last chapter and realized that I made Suki run through the trees with Akiko when she was already there...my bad (when they were running from the ambush). I'll try not to be so careless in the future.

This chapter is pretty much all fight.

Alright, well you've probably had enough of my little author's note here, so I'll let you go. If you've got any questions, comments, or anything of that nature, don't hesitate to ask or tell me. I like talkin to you guys. It gives me somethin to do when I'm sitting in the library doin my "homework."

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"You're the last one. That's quite an accomplishment, considering Itachi was assigned to you."

Naruto's vision was blurred; his motor functions were detiorating. His breath grew shallow and his lungs burned with every small breath. His body and mind were growing limp and heavy, and it was only sheer willpower that kept him standing on his two feet.

Naruto tried to talk back, perhaps call the man a bastard, but he didn't even have the strength to do such a simple thing. His world was fading into blackness as rain fell around him.

"I have won, Uzumaki Naruto. Your bijuu belongs to Akatsuki."

Sakura woke in a sweat. Regaining her senses, she looked around at her room. A gloomy moonlight shone through her window, casting ominous shadows in the dark. Still breathing hard, she stood up to try to get a grip of herself. The last words she had heard the man say echoed in her mind, and she shuddered. It had all seemed so real, she still felt like her skin was soaked from the rain...

She tried to tell herself that it was just a dream, but there was something that just didn't seem right. She couldn't sleep; Naruto's capture was fresh in her mind. Maybe if she got some fresh air...

"Damn that Naruto!" she cursed in her thoughts, the cool night air embracing her skin, still hot from her feverish dream, "keeping me up all night..."

She wanted to go see Sasuke, but she didn't know if the detention center let visitors come this late. So she headed to see her master instead. Sure enough, the Hokage was still up, working (or pretending to work) diligently on her newest stack of paperwork. When she heard Sakura enter and saw the look on her face, her pen stopped scribbling.

"Tsunade-shishou," the girl's voice was weak and shaky. "I had a bad dream. Naruto...he was captured."

She sat on the Hokage's desk; on the small area that had no papers. Tsunade tried to comfort her student as best as she could.

"How do you handle it, Tsunade-shishou? You're the one who has to send everyone out on their missions. How can you stand not knowing whether or not they're coming back."

The older woman sighed. "It never gets any easier, Sakura, believe me. As Hokage, I care about everyone in this village, and I worry about all of my ninja out there, carrying out dangerous missions."

"So then how do you do it?" asked Sakura curiously.

Tsunade gave a small grin. "This helps a little..."

She pulled open a hidden compartment in her desk and grabbed a bottle of sake. She handed a small cup to Sakura, who accepted it after a second or two of hesitation.

"Just one," Tsunade smiled as she filled the glass.

They toasted to Naruto's team and their safe return, and from there it was bottom's up. It was strong, intensely strong, and Sakura closed her eyes as she winced at the tatse. It went down so smoothly... it was great.

"When did you start drinking, Shishou?" she asked.

Tsunade finished her second shot before answering, "After Nawaki died..."

The Hokage looked sad as she stared blankly into space, and Sakura wondered what she was thinking about. Her brother had died. The one she loved had died. Sakura didn't know if she'd be able to handle it if Naruto and Sasuke were to die.

One thing was for certain: she would never again look down on her master for drinking so much.

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"If everything in this world has a purpose, then what is the purpose of a raindrop?"

A single drop of water fell from the gray heavens. It fell freely; one might even call it graceful. But the life of such a thing is cruelly short lived. It splatters against the rigid face of a man; a man who had also struggled to find his purpose. He wiped the water from his face

The rain had come so suddenly, Naruto hadn't even seen the clouds roll in. It fell heavily around him, turning the soft dirt into mud as it drummed an unorganized rhythm.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" called Naruto over the rain.

The man called Paine stood across from him, his face showing no emotion.

"A single drop of rain is insignificant in comparison to the rain as a whole."

"What the hell are you talking about? Are we going to fight or what?" Naruto was already prepared, but his opponent only wanted to talk about weird stuff.

"You and I are just raindrops, Naruto-kun, only small pieces of a bigger picture. In the grand scheme of all things, our roles are miniscule. We're both dealing with something bigger than we can fully understand."

What was this guy preaching about this time?

"You done? Can I kick your ass now?"

The features on Paine's face remained motionless.

"You are just as the others described you. Very well. If you are so eager to fight, then come on."

It was Naruto's pleasure to do so. Four shadow clones moved in on Paine, but the man destroyed them without moving from his spot, and he destroyed eight just as easily.

"Tajuu! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Paine looked generally unconcerned as the waves of clones decsended upon him.

"Suiton! Tsuin Suiryudan no jutsu!" (Water Element: Twin Water Dragon Technique)

Two dragon-like figures emerged from the rain, swallowing the Naruto clone army like they were nothing. The thirty or so remaining clones held their attack.

This guy was using the rain for his water attacks, and he was amazingly skilled. He hadn't moved a single inch since the fight started, and he had proved that he could mow down hundreds of his clones at one time. This was going to be incredibly rough...

Paine just stood there, studying Naruto's reaction. Many opponents had lost their cool once they had witnessed Paine's skill. He had seen it so many times; the fire of confidence fading from their eyes when they realized that there was no way they could beat him. This boy still had fire left, but in the end, he would be broken like the rest of them.

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Kakashi was getting a bad feeling about this rain. Everyone else seemed to notice as well, like this rain was a bad omen. Small, flowing streams and puddles began to form from it, the water forming a thin layer over the ground.

"It looks like their plan was to seperate us from their target," Kakashi had concluded, "And they were successful. Now their objective is to keep us away from him."

They all moved as a single unit now, with Kakashi up front and Jiraiya taking the rear. This rain also posed a bit of a problem in finding Naruto: they wouldn't be able to track the boy by scent.

Two ninja in black robes stood up ahead, blocking their path. One of them had a huge scythe-like weapon at his side. Everyone tensed as they drew nearer.

"You guys look like your lost!" one of them called when the group was in earshot.

Kakashi stopped short of them, and the others stayed behind him.

"Do they look familiar?" he asked Suki and Akiko.

"Yeah, we've seen em," Suki's voice darkened, "they're the ones who killed Sato and Baine."

"Well," called Jiraiya from the back, "no need for all of us to stay here for just the two of them. We'll split up and continue the search."

"I'm staying," said Akiko. It was not a suggestion.

"Then, I guess I'll be backing you up, Akiko-san," Kakashi put one hand on his headband.

"We may need another. Either Kankuro-san or Temari-san will be useful against the big, ugly one. He's close ranged."

"I'll play around with these guys a little," said Kankuro, "you go on ahead, Temari."

Kakashi, Kankuro, and Akiko stepped forward as the others left. Hidan and Kakuzu grinned at them.

"You should've said more sentimental words to your comrades," said Hidan," because that was the last time you'll ever see them."

Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing the sharingan eye. Kankuro unrolled three scrolls, summoning his puppets. Akiko reached into her pack for anything metal.

"Kakashi-san, you fight the guy with the mask. Kankuro-san and I will take out the other one and then back you up."

Water on the ground splashed as they went into action.

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Naruto sent his last clones out into the surrounding trees, where they waited for the opprotunity to sneak attack. He knew he was at a disadvantge. This guy could use the rain for attacks, and it was everywhere. His techniques could come at Naruto from any direction.

The self-proclaimed future Hokage cursed at himself. He was never smart enough to analyze an opponent's techniques and figure out how it works like Sakura or Sasuke. They would have probably alerady figured out what was going on...

This guy was just toying with him right now. Naruto had to defend himself somehow.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

The toad that he summoned was two times his size. It willingly wrapped it's tonge around Naruto and sheltered the boy in it's large mouth. Then, using the shadow clone technique, the toad was multiplied by ten, and Naruto was safely hidden for the time being.

"Ah, yes. Shadow clones. No doubt you're going to use them in combination with transformation, right? And then of course, you still have shadow clones wandering around here somewhere..."

Paine's expression hadn't changed much, although his face had lifted with slight interest. Two of the toads rushed in to tackle him. After more hand signs, a sphere of water surrounded Paine and reflected his two heavy attackers. Then, two dragons shot out to get rid of the toad clones. Attack and defense, simultaneously.

Naruto hadn't seen anything like it before. Paine had used two techniques, one after the other, so quickly that it almost looked like they occurred at the same time. A tongue lashed out from one of the clones and tried to wrap itself around the man. Grabbing onto it with two hands, Paine pulled the toad by the tongue. The huge amphibian came flying towards him, and with a punch, it was gone.

One of Naruto's clones had taken this opportunity to sneak up behind the Akatsuki with rasengan in hand. But without even turning, Paine threw a kunai right through the clone's stomach.

How the hell was he doing that?

"It's futile, Naruto-kun. You won't be able to sneak up on me."

Naruto was still hidden inside of one of the toads, but Paine knew that he could hear him.

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you? I summoned this rain. I can...feel the flow. I can sense anything that disturbs it from falling. From this information, I am able to process the image of my surroundings by how the rain is falling. I can feel your every move. I know where each one of your shadow clones are hiding; I know eveything that is within the boundaries of the storm."

So he had made this rain...he used it for attack, defense, as well as to have detailed knowledge of the terrain around him, although Naruto still didn't really understand it. He had no idea if he could stop this rain or not, or how to sever Paine's connection to it. The skill of this guy was unreal, and Naruto felt his confidence slipping away. But of course, he wasn't going to back down. He would face this challenge like he had faced every other obstacle in his life: hard work, determination, and faith in himself. Still, this wasn't going to be easy.

The real toad charged in and jumped in the air above the target. Just like before, Paine's shield of water surrounded him, and the toad bounced off of the wall of water. But when the barrier disappeared and the water dragon came shooting out, Naruto dismissed the toad right before it got hit, barely dodging the jutsu by falling to the ground. The rasengan appeared effortlessly in his hand without the assistance of a clone. He tried to close the gap between them as fast as he could, but as he reached out with his attack, Paine's body melted into a puddle on the ground.

What the hell was this guy?

Off-balance but landing on his feet, Naruto turned to see a liquid body rising out of the puddle. He watched as the features of the body became more detailed; his face and clothes becoming distinguishable. Maybe this was the opening Naruto was waiting for, and he charged Paine while his body was still re-forming. His punch was blocked, and so were the two kicks that followed it. Naruto was knocked back from a front kick to the chest.

As he tumbled, Naruto assessed his situation:

This guys use of jutsu and the speed of his techniques were fending off all of his attacks. This rain was kind of like Neji's byakugan, it gave Paine the knowledge of his suroundings in all directions. And to top it off, it looked like this guys was pretty good at taijutsu too. The real horror of it was the fact that he still hadn't moved from that spot ever since the fight started. If he wanted to, Naruto was sure this guy could kill him at any time. Of course, he couldn't kill him because they needed the kyuubi, so Paine was just going to wear him down until he had no chakra left.

His tumbling stopped, and he tried to ignore the pain in his chest. All of his hidden shadow clones were useless now, so he called them back to his side. There were twenty-nine of them, and he still had six toads hopping around.

"You! Toad!" he called to one of them, "oil!"

The summoned creature did as he was told. Mixed with an explosive from Naruto, they aimed a jet of flame at Paine. The same defense blocked the attack, and steam rose from the intense heat meeting the cool water.

Steam...

The wheels in his mind began to turn.

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Jiraiya, Suki, and Temari hadn't gone far before another ninja blocked their path. It was a woman, her jet black hair glistened in the rain. Her face looked stern, yet still had a faint touch of feminine grace. She was just as tall as the Sannin, and matched his gaze without fear.

"There's only one of you?" said Jiraiya, "I'm offended. Do you even know who I am?"

The woman pointed at him.

"Jiraiya of the legendary three," she said.

"So you do know me. Where's your partner, little miss?"

"Elsewhere."

She definitely wasn't the talkative type.

"Hmph. Too bad. I would have liked fighting you," chuckled Jiraiya, "but I'll leave this one to you, girls."

"Really? Why?" the two of them asked.

"Naruto is probably with Itachi and Kisame. If that's the case, he'll need my help. Those two are dangerous. And besides, I like cat fights!"

Suki could see where Naruto had gotten some of his personality from. He would have said something stupid like that too, and with the exact same dopey smile on his face.

"You two will be okay by yourselves, right?"

"Don't worry about us. Naruto-kun needs your help," Temari said, unhooking the fan from her back.

"It's two on one, but be careful," he warned.

Jiraiya didn't have time to waste. If Naruto got captured, it was over. He glanced behind him to see Temari's huge fan sweeping through the air, and then he was gone.

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"You're pretty interesting, Naruto-kun."

Naruto ignored him as he thought out his plan.

"You've realized it by now, haven't you? You can't beat me."

Naruto made another batch of shadow clones as Paine rambled on.

"Yet you continue to fight. Ninja with more skill than you have fled from me in fear once they discovered that they could not defeat me, but you have determination."

If this guy was dumb enough to keep talking and let Naruto have time to think, then the boy would make every precious second count.

"You have a strong spirit, boy, but those are the most entertaining to break. I will enjoy seeing the determination fade from your eyes, and the shadow of fear slowly take it's place."

"Hmph. Obviously you don't know who you're dealing with!"

Naruto pointed at the Paine and shouted with a grin on his face.

"You think I'm scared of you? I never back down. I never run away. I always keep my promises, and right now I proimse that I'm going to kick your ass!"

He gave the signal to his clones, and they all went into action. Five toads got into formation and aimed their oil into the sky. Thanks to five clones with explosive tags, the toads became flamethrowers.

Crowds of shadow clones tried to overwhelm Paine, coming at him from all sides. Paine danced in the middle of them, maintaining sound hand to hand combat form in the midst of a hundreds of enemies. He had to defend against a bullet of flame sent his way from the sixth toad, and had he not heard the sound of ground crumbling behind him, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the Naruto's KazeTenshu (God of Wind) technique. As Paine dodged, Naruto saw his chance. He was still in the air and unaware that Naruto was closing in on him...

Paine's mid-section was introduced to Rasengan.

Naruto grinned at his success. His heart was jumping out of his chest, he let out a sigh of relief; his body and mind responded to his victory. But the feeling only lasted a second. The body of Paine splattered in all directions.

Water clone.

He felt the rain on his back, and it couldn't have felt more heavy. The toads had run out of natural lighter fluid, and their flames had gone away.

"Good. Very good, Naruto-kun, I was starting to get bored."

Naruto could feel it: doubt seemed to be spreading through his body, just like Paine had said it would. When had he made a water clone? Probably when he melted into the puddle, he made a water clone reappear in his place while he observed the fight from afar.

"Not a bad strategy. You used fire jutsu in the air around me, turning the rain to steam before it came close enough for me to use for my jutsu. Then you tried to distract me with all your clones and had one toad attack from the outside. With all these things going on and no rain to sense your position with, you snuck up on me and hit me with that technique. Very well thought out, Naruto-kun."

With speed that Naruto had only seen from the two Sannin that he had fought, Paine finished off the rest of the clones.

"I was wondering if you had the skill to force me to use my full power or not. You've shown that you have good reations and the timing of your jutsu is good. Also, you have the stamina to use a mass shadow clone jutsu multiple times. You've proven yourself worthy. I have enough chakra left to finish you. I will not hold back any longer."

Naruto looked around him. There was rain as far as the eye could see. Everything was wet. This guy saw everything...

This wasn't the best of scenarios to be in. All of his attempts to get to Paine had done major damage to his chakra reserves. Judging by the speed and skill of his opponent, the next few minutes of Naruto's life were going to be extremely painful.

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Now, after some help from Tsunade's "all-curing medicine," Sakura attempted sleep once more. She had calmed down a little, and she got over the initial shock of how suprisingly real her dream had been.

She laughed at herself for being so shaken up from a dream. Somewhere out there, Sakura was sure that Naruto was just fine.

He had to be.

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Well, that's the chapter. It's a little shorter than I intended, but while I was writing I thought that this was a good place to stop. Originally, I was going to have the Naruto/Paine fight concluded, but right now I don't really know what's going to happen next, so I must confess that I'm stalling a little. Thanks again everyone for sittin here through another chapter. Until next time, then...


	32. True Powers Clash

Hello and good day once again! Another chapter down, another thank you from me to everyone. Well there it is - short and sweet- so I'm done now.

Hope ya like it!

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Paine was only distracted for a second as he sensed two unknown people heading in his direction. He used one hand to block the kid's latest feeble attempt to attack him as he tried to assess the situation.

Itachi and Kisame were out of position. They had been told to hold off Jiraiya while Paine dealt with the jinchuuriki, but the two of them were heading northward, back to the base. Itachi knew about Paine's rain, so the Uchiha was fully aware that at this moment, Paine was watching his every movement. What were they doing?

From the feel of the Sannin's chakra, Jiraiya was on his way here. He was certaily skilled enough to cause trouble for him, and then there was still another person approaching who Paine did not recognize. But it wasn't like he couldn't finish off this brat and take him back to base before they got here.

The boy was still trying to get at Paine, even though he had absolutely no shot of laying a finger on him. The boy ran at him while yelling something like, "I'm going to destroy you!" But with a simple hand sign, a jet of water shot out and sent him flying wildly backwards. It was time to end this.

"Kouuton! Zetsumei Arashi!" (Rain Technique: Death Tempest)

The rain fell faster; heavier. And it hardened, the tips of each rain drop becoming incredibly sharp. Suddenly, in a single burst, all the rain around them seemed to target Naruto.

He was pierced in so many places at once that it would have been impossible to count. Some of the needles passed straight through him, entering through his back, shooting through his organs and bones, and coming out the front side. Others impaled him and didn't quite make it all the way through.

He was falling now, his body in shock from taking so much damage in a single second. His eyes were wide with surprise. His mouth was open, unable to scream and let the pain escape him.

Mud. Mud got in his eyes, and he felt it, so soft all over his face. He was fading.

He was fading…

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When the ambush had occurred, the sun had silently crept back down beyond the profile of rolling hills, but there was still a stubborn bit of daylight left lingering above them. Night was upon them now, and they fought in inconvinient darkness.

An improvised blade in hand, Akiko was careful to dodge Hidan's wide, cleaving strokes. His pursuit of her was stopped, however, thanks to the senbon trap in Kankuro's puppet. Hidan laughed at the young Suna jonin.

"You're pathetic, boy. I've gone up against Sasori of the Red Sand. Compared to him, you and your three puppets are worthless."

He came at Kankuro, avoiding the advances of his puppets and striking out with his scythe. The puppeteer was quick to dodge the initial swipe of his weapon, but the attacks continued as Hidan pressed forward. Akiko hurried to step in and block the movement of the scythe with her sword. Neither of them could afford to suffer even the slightest scratch. She remembered what had happened when Naruto had been hit by Hidan. It was a good thing Akatsuki needed him alive, or else he would have been finished.

Her blade changed form and began to coil itself around Hidan's weapon, and she pulled on it, trying to release it from his grip. The man tugged back, and it wasn't until Karasu swept in with razors protruding from it's arms that Hidan was jump away and abandon his scythe.

The man just laughed again.

"So you took my scythe, so what? You still can't kill me!!"

He was right. They couldn't kill him; the bastard was some kind of immortal freak. But they had to bring him down somehow, because it looked like Kakashi wasn't faring so well against Kakuzu. He needed some support. Akiko looked over at Kankuro. Like Hidan, if one were to be scratched by a puppet attack, that person would be poisoned. But like the guy said, he had faced Sasori before, and no offence to Kankuro, but he was nowhere near the level of Sasori. Hmph. They needed to take him out now and help Kakashi. It was times like these that Akiko asked herself, "What would Maki-san do?"

Suki had told her that in the fight against Sasori, Chiyo had controlled Sakura's movements with the same chakra strings used to control puppets. Having been a witness to many of Naruto's miraculous fights in which he had his opponents fooled out of their minds, Akiko began to think of how she might be able to close in on him. She began to grin. Naruto would be proud of her.

Filling Kankuro in on what she was thinking, they got ready to execute her plan. First, two puppets rattled and went after Hidan. That's when they did it…

The two puppet attack wasn't enough to effectively distract Hidan. When the two of them withdrew and Akiko came running at him, he caught her easily and held her off the ground by the neck.

"Hah! Too easy, you little bitch!"

The girl smiled at him. Something wasn't right. She opened her mouth wide, wider than a human should be able to, and purple smoke seeped out. It happened before he could stop himself; Hidan breathed it in. The effect was almost instantaneous. He could feel his body growing numb.

His grip on Akiko loosened, and the transformation was undone. One of the puppets near Kankuro revealed itself to be the short, black-haired girl. The puppet in front of him returned to its original form.

Damn. He had thought it had been a little too easy to catch the girl, and he had been right. They had let him catch her, and now poison was running through his body. Damn kids. As soon as the poison wore off, he was going to make sure they suffered.

With their opponent unable to move, Akiko and Kankuro now turned their attention to Kakashi and the other creepy looking guy.

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Paine stood over his latest victim.

"You're not going to die, are you? I made sure that your heart, lungs, and brain were not damaged. You'll live long enough for the procedure to take place."

Naruto said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, as barely conscious as he was. Laying in a pool of mud, water, and blood, he was unable to do much of anything except feel the tremendous pain coursing through his entire body. This sucked.

Jiraiya and the other unknown person would be here soon. Paine knew it was time to go. He reached for Naruto to carry the boy back to base, but the jinchuuriki stopped his arm and grabbed his hand. The grip was weak, but this boy was still resisting, even on the brink of death. Paine pulled his hand away, kicked the boy hard, and reached for him again.

The same thing happened.

Paine was sick of this stubbornness, and he forcefully hauled Naruto into a fireman's carry.

But Naruto had already decided. He wasn't going to be captured here. There was no way that this was the end. The boy struggled as much as he could in his condition. With every movement, his whole body shook in pain, straining itself to the very limits. He tried to stab at his opponent with a kunai, and that's when Paine had to let go.

Naruto heard him sigh. He couldn't kill him, but it was going to be bothersome trying to get him back to the meeting point like this. Jiraiya would catch up with him if the brat made him move this slowly. He should be unconscious. He shouldn't have any strength to resist, but the boy was doing both.

Another surprise; the kid made a shadow clone to hold himself up. Then, he asked Paine a question.

"Do you have people who are important to you, Paine?"

"You're half dead. You're bleeding all over the place. Yet you ask me a silly question like that?"

"I want to know."

Even now, a bloody mess and covered in mud, the boy had a look of determination to him.

"Not really."

Paine's response was more of a shrug than anything else. Naruto smiled at him.

"I figured as much. You fight for the wrong reasons."

His clone let him stand on his own.

"You bad guys never learn, do you?"

Paine didn't respond.

"I'll never lose to a guy like you."

"I guy like me?" Paine repeated.

"That's right. You're someone who doesn't know real strength; someone who doesn't know what it's like to feel the true power. I can't lose to you."

"I have the power to crush all opponents. I have never lost. That is true power," Paine confirmed

Naruto only smiled wider.

"Like I said, you know nothing at all. I, on the other hand, am invincible right now."

The boy seemed confident, but Paine didn't seem all too concerned.

"What are you going to do, smear your blood on me? You can barely move. You'll lose consciousness soon."

Paine was silent after that, as if waiting for Naruto to just give up and fall over.

"You guys are obsessed with the fox, aren't you?"

He clasped his hands together and focused his chakra.

"If you're so eager to meet him, why don't I introduce you?"

In the darkness of his fading mind, Naruto called out. It came; the flood. And Naruto let it consume him. His physical transformation began: eyes narrowed, teeth sharpened, pupils reddened, whisker marks bolded, nails grew longer.

One tail. Two tails. Three tails.

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Kisame followed Itachi, not entirely sure as to what in the hell was going on. He had chosen to remain loyal to his partner, and it seemed that the Uchiha had already planned everything. It wasn't like the shark-man felt any remorse for abandoning his comrades: he didn't really care whether they died or not.

"Shouldn't we help the jinchuuriki? I mean, he doesn't stand a chance against the leader, right?"

"It doesn't matter," called Itachi, "even if Naruto-kun is captured, the others won't survive without our help. They won't have enough chakra to perform the extraction."

"So, you're planning on just letting all of 'em die, huh?"

"Yes."

"So why are we heading back to the base? Shouldn't we be out there fighting too?"

Itachi looked up to the sky as they made it out of the rain.

"Naruto-kun and the others will do all the work. Paine will fall."

It was the first time Kisame had heard the name before. How had Itachi come to know their leader by name?

"Oh, and don't refer to Paine as the leader of Akatsuki. He is not."

This was news to Kisame. There was an even bigger guy pulling the strings.

"That's where we're going," said Itachi.

Why was Itachi so intent on bringing this guy down? Kisame could only follow him and wonder. He was sure that he would get his answer soon.

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The fox's chakra didn't necessarily heal all of Naruto's wounds, but it made his body mobile yet again. The chakra acted on it's own with an independent will, and it moved Naruto's body as it saw fit. He struggled to keep at least a little bit of control. The increase of speed and power in his movements and attacks took Paine off guard. Naruto landed a hard right hand to Paine's gut, and for the first time, the man's face twisted in pain.

They seemed to be moving faster than the rain falling around them. The familiar twin dragons took shape, but they were consumed easily by the dark red light. Paine backed away from his aggressor, but a large hand of chakra followed him. He raised his shield, and the fist crashed against it. It took all of Paine's strength to keep the barrier from shattering.

Naruto closed the distance with inhuman speed, charging in on all fours like a wild animal. It reminded Naruto of how Kiba fought with his beast mimicry.

Paine tried his best to dodge the strikes Naruto threw at him. The boy continued to move with graceful unpredictability. He was running and jumping all over the place and attacking Paine from all possible angles. He seemed to be relying solely on the power of the red chakra and not putting any thoughts into his attacks or techniques. Everything he tried was useless, but the kyuubi's attacks were missing their mark as well…barely. Paine had to stay on his toes.

On the other hand, Naruto was testing out how much control he had over his body. The fox moved how he wanted, but unlike his four tailed state, the human part of him was still aware of what was going on. It was taking all his willpower just to move his arm a single inch from where the red chakra was guiding it.

**Why are you struggling?**

That voice inside his head thundered again.

**You wanted me to come out, didn't you? You wanted me to take control.**

"I wanted you to lend me your power, not take control!"

**What's the problem? I will kill this guy, so just sit back and watch.**

That was the only thing he could do, but Paine was still holding his own. Neither of them seemed to be getting anywhere. There was one thing that ensured Naruto's victory: Paine was human. Naruto only knew that it was a matter of time until the man's stamina would be depleted. But Paine's attacks had become more skillful. Just like Naruto had seen him use an attack and defense technique almost simultaneously, Paine used his attacks the same way.

Twin dragons lashed out, followed by a powerful jet of water. The kyuubi managed to escape both techniques and began a counter attack. Paine showed the same ability he had displayed earlier as his body melted into a puddle, making Naruto pass right over him. A hand reached up out of the water and caught him by the ankle. Emerging out of the puddle and jumping high into the air, Paine threw Naruto into the soaked earth as with all his might.

The fox's world was shaken, and Naruto found that he had a sudden control of himself. Not knowing how long this would last, he had to think quickly. He burst back out of the ground behind Paine, three tails and all. He was amazed by the own speed of his attacks, for it was him who was controlling them this time, not the kyuubi. How this guy was avoiding them, he did not know. His insides were searing with and it hurt to even move, the damage to his body was catching up to him. Without the red chakra of the fox to control him, he felt every twinge of pain as consequence to his movement.

The trap had already been sprung.

Underground, where Naruto had first landed from Paine's attack, another Naruto was lying in wait. Rasengan ready, he waited for the Naruto above ground to lead Paine back to this spot. However, with the power of the kyuubi behind him, he felt like he could take it a step farther. He ignored the fox's attempts to regain control as his wind element chakra was poured out into his hand.

Paine was almost there.

Naruto could feel the power surging through him; he felt like he was holding a hurricane in his hand. It felt so incredible that he could feel it tingling up and down his arm.

Everything. He was driving everything he could muster into this last spurt of energy. His entire being.

He wanted to be the one who took this guy down, not the stupid nine-tails.

They were almost in position now, and Naruto was ready.

Ten feet away…

Eight…

Six…

Four…

This was it.

Mud and water went flying as he sprang out of the ground. Time seemed to slow down, and a mere second dragged on into a minute.

He felt the cold rain on his face; the slight breeze that he hadn't noticed until now. He saw Paine turn quickly, disbelief written all over his face. He felt like his body was about to fall apart, as if a single twitch of his eye would cause him to shatter. He endured it, and at the top of his lungs, with all of his strength, he yelled:

"Fuuton! Rasengan!"

He felt it connect. It was so intense that an unbearable pain shot up his arm, like recoil on a high caliber revolver. His world was engulfed with blue.

-xxx-

Jiraiya was close to Naruto, he could feel it. It was the foul chakra of the demon that slept inside of the boy. The old sannin followed this sensation until he heard the sounds of a fight. Coming to a clearing, he saw them: Naruto and a member of Akatsuki. He hurried to them, eager to get his own taste of battle. He was about fifty yards away when it happened. A separate Naruto had appeared from the ground, not three feet behind the unknown ninja. It may have just been him, but the whole world seemed to slow down at that moment. He heard his young pupil scream out the name of the technique and punched it into the man with ferocity.

Upon impact, the ground itself rumbled and broke apart beneath them. A flash of bright blue light surrounded them, and Jiraiya was no longer able to see them. The air itself seemed erratic, pushing in all directions as it swirled around the focal point of the impact. The resulting shockwave spread out in all directions, and before Jiraiya knew what had hit his, the sheer force of it had him off his feet and flying in the direction he had come. It was chaos now. He couldn't see; the brilliant light did not allow it. In his ears rang the rumbling of the explosion. The only thing he knew was that he was still in the air, at the mercy of this unbelievable power.

-xxx-

Kakashi, Akiko, and Kakashi formed a triangle around Kakuzu. Their opponent had split himself into three, facing each of them. The same noise caught their attention: a low, rumbling sound like thunder or perhaps a train. Looking to the west, they saw the blue flash, a pillar of light that stretched from earth to heaven. It splashed the growing night with a light blue splendor, and the rain clouds seemed to absorb it like sponges. Moments later, the shockwave hit them. The ground under their feet quaked and the hit was almost strong enough to sweep them away. They had to concentrate their chakra to their feet in order to stay in place. After a few seconds, it passed. The clouds had dispersed, and only a trace of the great blueness was left to mingle with the stars.

-xxx-

Recovering from whatever caused the tremor and stopped the rain, Suki and Temari re-focused on the woman. It was the woman that dropped her guard as she gazed into the sky.

"Paine's technique is gone…" she mumbled.

The mysterious figure turned to the two girls.

"It seems that my partner has been defeated. I never would have expected this, even if his opponent was one of the Sannin of legend."

Her voice hinted no sorrow, only surprise.

"Itachi and Kisame did not come to aid us as they were instructed," she said, more to herself than anyone else, "Hidan and Kakuzu will not hold out. We have lost. There's no need to fight anymore."

Something about her body changed. A piece of her face fell off and floated to the ground as if it were paper. Soon, her entire body had transformed, and like origami, the little pieces were folded into cranes and were lost as they flew off into the darkness.

Suki couldn't say that she was disappointed at not being able to finish the fight. Up to that point in their battle, that woman had given her and Temari all that they could handle. Temari's style was to hit a wide area so that there was no chance of dodging. Suki's style was more precise, as her lightning didn't cover as much ground as Temari's wind. The two of them looked around. Most of the trees had been blown away completely by Temari, and others had the scars of lightning forever embedded into their wood.

"We need to work on our aim," said Suki humorously.

She was used to light-hearted conversation and joking around after a fight. Traveling with Naruto for almost three years can do that to a person.

"I guess Naruto-kun is safe, then, if what that woman said is true," Temari's fan was fastened to her back once again, and she looked to Suki as she said this.

Nodding to each other, they went in the direction of the blue light.

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As soon as he was able, Jiraiya returned to the scene. He gasped at the huge crater that had been formed, and he hurried to look down into it. There, in the middle of it all, was Naruto. His obliterated opponent was lifeless on the ground, not too far away. Jumping down and landing next to Naruto, a worry came across him. Jiraiya was certainly no medical ninja, but even he could tell that Naruto's life was in danger. The boy was limp and his breath was shallow. His skin, hair, and clothes were soaked in rain and mud and blood. The boy had so many holes in him that Jiraiya couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of injuries he had sustained. Picking him up as carefully as he could, Jiraiya carried Naruto in his arms. Only one person he knew in the entire world would even have a slight chance at keeping this boy alive. He needed Tsunade. Now.

Naruto opened his eyes.

"Ero-sannin?"

Jiraiya looked down at him, but didn't know what to say. This boy was like his own grandson, and here he was, dying in an old man's arms.

"You're too late," came Naruto's voice weakly.

"Don't say that," was what the sannin started to say, but Naruto, as usual, cut him off.

A grin. Naruto was grinning at him.

"I already beat him, Ero-sannin. You're too slow. You might be able to get Itachi still, though. Get him good, for me and Sasuke."

"I will kid," he said back, "you did good. Rest now."

"Yeah. And when I wake up, I think I'll eat some ramen…"

With that last thought, Naruto blacked out again.

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Itachi watched as the rain stopped and the clouds disappeared. Paine was gone and his partner most likely withdrew from the battle shortly after that. Kakashi and the others would finish those so called "immortal ninja" soon. All that was left was _him_.

"So wait a minute," Kisame told him, "that Paine guy has been giving us orders, but he's not our boss?"

"No," replied Itachi.

He led Kisame deep into the cave and into a dull room lit only by a few torches on the wall.

"He is the mastermind of Akatsuki."

Kisame looked to where his partner had pointed. There was a man standing in the corner of the room.

"Tobi!? The new guy!?"

Tobi approached them, and Kisame saw Itachi tense up. What kind of person was this guy, to make Uchiha Itachi so on edge?

"Itachi," Tobi said in a much different voice than Kisame was used to, "so this is what you have chosen."

"Yes. I intend to kill you and take the power for myself."

Tobi laughed.

"I don't blame you. You want to have the power I'm after for yourself. I guess we Uchiha think alike, don't we?"


	33. Struggle to Keep Strong

Hey, hey. Well, thanks to all you readers out there. I know Tobi is a fan favorite, and I may have tweaked him beyond your liking, so uh...sorry 'bout that I guess.

I tried to think ahead, but I seriously don't know what's going on. I had a whole thing written out about the importance of the rings and the history of the kyuubi and whatnot but I'm not too sure if I like it anymore, so I'll have to rethink it and then base the remainder of the story tying up all the loose ends.

Anyway, I can't possibly thank you guys enough, even if you get annoyed by it, I'd still keep saying it over and over again, so thank you.

(End another boring author's note)

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Someone stood over Paine's body. The corpse was unrecognizable; the man was just a heap of skin and bones on the ground. Pieces of him were being washed away by small streams from the rain that he himself had created. Greedy eyes fell to his hand. The ring was still intact and resting peacefully on Paine's finger. With a grin, Kabuto snatched it into his hand as if he expected Paine to exert some kind of resistance. Holding the thing in his hands, the maniacal smile slowly dragged along his cheeks. It was time to check if any other Akatsuki members had fallen. If they had, then their rings would be added to his collection.

Kabuto gave a silent thanks to Naruto. This wouldn't have been possible without that loud-mouthed kid. Orochimaru had told Kabuto everything he had learned about Akatsuki, and now he was so close to obtaining more power than his ex-master ever had or could have even dreamed of having.

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The Sannin ran, his feet sinking into the muddy soil with each stride. The boy had regained his semi-delirious consciousness and was rambling on about something. Jiraiya couldn't hear him; he was too focused on his goal to get Naruto back to the village as fast as he could. Some of the wounds were bleeding again, and it soaked into Jiraiya's shirt sleeve.

"How're you holding up?" he asked Naruto.

"Honestly…I've been better. I can't see very well, everything is all blurry. I feel really light-headed and dizzy."

Loss of blood.

"How's the pain?"

"Well, besides the burning sensation throughout my whole body that makes me want to scream, I'm totally fine."

Jiraiya looked even more worried.

"Don't sweat it!" said Naruto, "I'll hold out until we get to the Old Lady. Then everything will be all right."

Paine had told Naruto that he would live long enough for the ceremony. As long as he fought to stay alive, he knew that Jiraiya would get him back to Konoha fast enough.

That guy…if Naruto hadn't been so valuable to Akatsuki, he would be dead right now.

"Hey, Ero-sannin" he called weakly, "don't let Aki-chan and Suki see me like this…"

And he was sleeping again.

It wasn't long before Jiraiya saw two girls coming towards him: Temari and Suki. The toad sage did a simple transformation on Naruto as they came into view.

Suki's eyes immediately fell to Naruto.

"He's fine," Jiraiya lied, "he's just exhausted."

The girl scanned him over. His clothes were wet and muddy, but that was about it. It looked like he was just sleeping. Jiraiya hadn't stopped running, so she and Temari had to turn around quickly to keep up with him.

"I take it you won, then?" Jiraiya asked.

"No…that woman ran away after she found out her partner had died. She said that she didn't expect him to lose, even if you were his opponent," they told him.

"Is that so…"

"It's a good thing you were here, Jiraiya-sama," said Suki, "whoever he was, he must've been really strong if his partner thought he could beat a Sannin."

"It must have been one hell of a fight," commented Temari, "we felt your jutsu from a good distance away."

Jiraiya looked down at Naruto. Even if that person wasn't trying to kill him, the fact that Naruto brought someone like him down said a lot.

"I didn't do anything. I got there too late. Naruto took him on all by himself."

The two girls stared from the man to the boy in his arms, taking in what had just been said.

"That blue flash just a minute ago didn't come from me. It was him."

"No way…" Suki said with a tone of awe.

Hearing her voice seemed to snap him back to reality.

"What's with the surprise?" he laughed, which was a big mistake and caused him more pain, "you didn't think I was going to lose, did you?"

She smiled at him, and for a moment, the searing anguish of his body seemed to go away.

"Never doubted you for a second. Now shut up, Baka-kun, you should be resting."

She didn't have to tell him twice. He was already out again.

Kakashi, Akiko, and Kankuro were still at it when the rest of them came running through.

Kakuzu was smart enough not to get caught in a 6 on 1 fight, and he retreated while his three other bodies provided cover. Working together, the three black masses were destroyed. Kakashi went after Kakuzu, but Jiraiya stopped him. Itachi, Kisame, and that woman were still out there. It would be dangerous to venture out now, and he still had to get Naruto back to Tsunade.

He gathered everyone around. Kakashi saw through Jiraiya's transformation, but said nothing.

"Everyone did a great job, but we're going back. We've done some severe damage to their organization today, and they won't be able to do much of anything with their dwindling numbers."

"We should hunt them down!" said Kankuro, "we've got them outnumbered!"

"And you said that you haven't fought yet, right, Jiraiya-sama? With you at full strength, we can still crush them!" Temari was up for it as well.

It was no good. Since all of them had used up their chakra, Jiraiya was the only one left who could carry Naruto all the way back without resting.

"We don't know the strength of our enemy, and most of us are tired," said Kakashi, "It would be too risky to push forward now. We don't need any unnecessary casualties."

The siblings finally gave in. They all decided that falling back would be the best course of action. The group took off, and they all struggled to keep up with Jiraiya's haste.

This pace, this sudden retreat, the serious look on Jiraiya's face: Akiko knew something was up. A glance at Suki told her that she was thinking the same thing. The blonde girl told her about what was said when she first ran into Jiraiya and Naruto after the huge blue flash.

"Jiraiya-sama."

Akiko had to call to him because he was further ahead.

"Maki-san isn't all right, is he?"

"He's fine!" he called back, "I told you he's just sleeping."

"Please don't lie to us," Suki's soft, worried voice made Jiraiya stop.

They had already figured it out. They would just be mad if he lied to them now.

"He needs to see Tsunade right away," he said gravely.

He could instantly see the fear seep into the two girls and they stared at Naruto with panicked eyes.

"How bad is it?"

He couldn't have distinguished which one of them had asked. Both of them were tearing up.

"He didn't want you to see how he looks right now," Jiraiya couldn't bear to look at their faces any longer.

"We don't really have time for this," said Kakashi, "every second counts."

Could it be that bad? The girls only feared for his life even more. Even Temari and Kankuro seemed to be in a worried panic.

Naruto raised his head and saw blurred faces with their heads bowed, and he felt the solemn mood.

"Is everyone safe? Are Suki and Aki-chan okay?"

He tried moving around to do a head count, but his body wouldn't let him.

"We're all fine, Maki-san. Suki and I are right here."

Naruto held out both his hands, and each of the girls took one and held it gently.

"Sorry. I can't really see that well, everything is blurry. But if everyone is fine, then why is everyone so sad?"

"I think they might be concerned about you, Naruto," Kakashi pointed out.

"Me? I'm fine!"

He tried to sound energetic. Big mistake. He coughed up blood.

"Ah…this is nothing! Trust me, I'm fine!"

They didn't seem very convinced. They had just taken notice of the blood on Jiraiya's sleeves.

"You guys are so dumb!" laughed Naruto, "Do you really think I'm going to just let myself fall over and die? I don't think so!"

They just stared at him with their wet, sad faces.

"Stop," he told them harshly, "don't you have any faith in me at all? I'm telling you right now that there's no way I'm going to die, so acting like I'm dead already! And… I hate seeing you guys cry…"

The sternness in his voice made them stand straight and they wiped their tears away. He smiled at them, but it was more like he was clenching his teeth because it felt like his insides were being torn apart. He nodded at Jiraiya. They had better hurry.

"The rest of us can't keep up with you, we need to rest," Kakashi said to Jiraiya.

"Right," the Sannin said back, "I'll go on ahead then."

And to Suki and Akiko, he said, "Don't worry. I won't stop for anything."

"Yeah right," came Naruto's voice, "he'll probably stop to flirt with some cute girl."

He turned to acknowledge everyone with a smile before Jiraiya went on ahead. The five shinobi he left behind silently prayed that the speed of a Sannin would be fast enough to save Naruto's life…

Without Suki and Akiko around, he didn't have to act anymore. His body was feeling heavy. The pain was so intense that he couldn't hide it anymore. His teeth were grinding together, his fists were balled up; every single inch of his body was tense as it tried its best to deal with the damage it had suffered.

Jiraiya saw the look planted on Naruto's face. It was something he had never expected to see there in a million years.

"Ero-Sannin…it really hurts…" his voice was a dead whisper. He struggled to speak between shallow breaths.

"I know it does, kid. Just hang on…"

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. It hurt to move. It hurt to be alive.

Jiraiya ran on through the night.

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After a hot bath and a delicious breakfast, Sakura's mind was more at ease. Even after she had gone to see Tsunade, she couldn't get over how real her dream had been. But today was a new day, and she had many things planned. She announced to her mother that she was going now and walked out the door. The bright and cheerful morning sun greeted her like an old friend, and she began to hum as she headed down the street. Of course, her destination was Naruto's house because that was the first place Sasuke went in the morning. Sure enough, there he was, rummaging through the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" she called.

"Hey."

She stood in the hall and watched him. He was searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"Something to eat."

"If you want, we can go back to my place. I can make something for you."

"You don't have to. I don't want to be any trouble."

"I don't mind. My mom's a pretty good cook, and she's been teaching me!" she said with a smile as she hugged his arm and led him towards the door.

Someone was coming up the stairs as they were leaving. Three someones, to be precise.

"Hey you guys," called a familiar, child-like voice, "is Naruto-nii-chan here?"

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon had come to see Naruto.

"Oh, didn't you hear, Konohamaru-kun?" asked Sakura, "Naruto went on a mission a few days ago. He hasn't come back yet."

Konohaaru didn't seem to be listening anymore. He stared at Sasuke, to whom Sakura was clung to.

"Onee-chan, are you and Sasuke-san together?"

"Well, yes," she replied happily.

The three genin seemed upset. Sasuke knew why. They had been rooting for their "boss" as they sometimes called him. Even they knew that Naruto liked Sakura. Everyone seemed to know except for Sakura herself. And she was said to have the best analytical skills out of team seven. Maybe she did know but pretended that she didn't because she wouldn't know what to say…

Whatever the case may be, Sasuke knew Naruto didn't want him talking about it to anyone. Saskue was going to honor his request; it wasn't his secret to tell, anyway.

He stared back at the three young kids, and they seemed to come to an unspoken understanding.

"Heh…well, I guess that's Nii-chan for you!" said Konohamaru, his two team mates nodding behind him.

Sakura looked from Sasuke to Konohamaru. She missed out on the silent conversation and had no clue what was going on. He turned without saying another word, and the two others followed.

"Tell us when he gets back, okay?" called Udon as he hurried to walk at Moegi's side.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"They were just worried, that's all," he said.

"About what? Naruto?"

Sasuke changed the subject.

"So what's for breakfast, Sakura?"

She was reminded of why she had been so excited in the first place, and she pulled Sasuke down the steps.

The meal wasn't remarkably good, but it was much better than he had anticipated. She told him about her dream. Sasuke could tell that she was shaken up just talking about it. He sighed as he comforted her; awkwardly at first, but then more compassionately.

As the day went on, he tried to keep her mind on other things. They met up with Ino and Lee who invited themselves to come along, their jealousy burning deep within them.

They kept Sasuke company while he babysat the Feudal Lord's grandson, and Sasuke showed them some effective training techniques he had learned. Lee was most grateful. He was always eager to learn new training methods. When Sakura and Ino were too tired to train anymore, Sasuke suggested that they go back into town.

Lee stayed back to train while the rest of them looked for something to do. Shikamaru and Chouji came looking for Ino

"We figured she'd go chasing after a certain someone on our day off," said Shikamaru.

Asuma had called a squad meeting, and Ino was "ripped from her one and only true love," as she put it. They promised to catch up after the meeting was over and have a big dinner at Chouji's favorite barbeque place.

With a few hours to kill before nightfall and not knowing how long Ino and the others would be, Sakura and Sasuke went back to Naruto's house to wait it out.

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The tall walls that surrounded the city had never looked so beautiful. Weary as he was, seeing the sight made Jiraiya run even faster. He had made a two and a half day journey in just under a day. Naruto wasn't awake, but the sannin spoke to him anyway.

"See that, kid? We're almost there, almost to Tsunade."

The gate guards greeted him warmly, but their expressions changed when they saw the limp boy he was holding in his arms. They quickly moved out of his way. He was tired, but it wasn't much further now. There it was: the tall building that towered over the center of Konoha. Tsunade was there. She would take care of Naruto.

She jumped in surprise as he burst through her door. He fell to one knee, trying to catch his breath enough to talk. Tsunade didn't need to hear it; one look at Naruto said it all. He was a muddy, dirty, bloody, hole-filled mess.

Not wasting a second, she took the boy from Jiraiya's hands and placed him on the sofa that Shizune had dragged to the middle of the room. She yelled for someone to bring a medical team from the hospital and started to assess the injuries that Naruto had sustained.

No. This couldn't be happening. The necklace she had given him hung around his neck. The two previous owners of that necklace had died. She wasn't going to let it claim a third victim, no matter what. She had to do everything in her power to make sure this boy survived.

She had to keep calm. Panicking wouldn't do anything to help him right now. She was the only shinobi with enough medical knowledge and experience to treat a body that was this severely damaged. In desperation to calm down, she took a deep breath.

Okay….

The first step is to stop the bleeding. Her hands glowed green and swept up and down his body. Shizune took his pulse and measured his breathing. Tsunade's fear only worsened as she discovered just how badly this boy had been wounded. He shouldn't even be alive right now. It was clear that Naruto hadn't given in yet.

"Old...Lady…"

He had woken up, and his voice was barely audible. He was feverish, though, and didn't quite know where he was or what was happening around him. It wasn't possible for him to think clearly at this point. The only thing he could see clearly was an outline of a familiar face and a small diamond in the middle of her forehead.

"Everything's all right now, Naruto," he said as if talking to himself, "the Old Lady is here…she'll make the pain go away…"

The team she had sent for from the hospital filled the room, and Shizune filled them in on the extent of the patient's condition as Tsunade managed to stop the rest of the bleeding.

His loss of blood was too great. If they didn't start to replenish his blood supply soon, there would be no hope.

"Shizune!" she yelled, "we're going to need another med team!"

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Sasuke sat quietly across from Sakura, and he was trying not to look at her. She asked him so many questions. Personal questions most of which he didn't really care to answer. He was never really an open kind of person, but it didn't seem like Sakura had accepted that yet. Maybe down the road, if he felt comfortable talking about it, he would tell her at his own time. He didn't really like her prodding at all.

Her voice was small in the darkening room.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I just…want to know about you. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I'm not mad at you," he said, "but please, just don't come at with so many questions at the same time."

He didn't feel very content to convey all his feelings and emotions and his past to her in one night. He saw her eyes cast downward, and she shifted her body to face the open window.

"Don't worry about," he said, "I guess I could try to be more open with you, but let's not go overboard, okay?"

Her smile brightened the shadowy room. But the moment didn't last. The door shook as a fist pounded against it.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!"

It was a fellow medical ninja from the hospital.

"What is it?" asked Sakura, wary of the woman's urgent tone.

"There's an emergency at Tsunade-sama's office! Shizune told me to come and get you!"

Sakura glanced back at Sasuke before stepping out to listen to the rest of the story.

"Two whole medical teams are already there. Shizune-san is there, and even with Tsunade-sama herself, we need all the help we can get!"

"What's happened?" Sakura asked.

"It's bad…really bad. It's taking our combined effort just to keep his heart beating."

If Shizune, Tsunade, and two medical teams had been called and they still weren't enough, then whatever happened, it must have happened to someone incredibly important, and it was incredibly serious.

"It wouldn't do any good to break it to you gently in this situation, but please prepare yourself for some bad news. I think the subject is a friend of yours."

Sakura looked absolutely petrified. She didn't think she wanted to know who it was anymore. She tried to brace herself, but the two words were the exact ones that Sakura had dreaded she would hear.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The world around her came crashing down. Her legs would have buckled under her, but her resolve to get to Naruto as fast as possible kept her running.

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Kisame stood there watching as the two Uchiha stared at each other, their sharingan eyes were unblinking. A battle of Mangekyou Sharingan wasn't as exciting as Kisame had anticipated. He had no idea how this whole battle of space and time worked. If he remembered correctly, Itachi had told him that a second in this world was three days in the world of tsukiyomi. They must be having one hell of a fight; they had been standing around for about three minutes.

And then before he knew it, both men fell to their knees.

"Finish him now," Itachi instructed him, "he's been weakened."

Kisame couldn't see it, but under Tobi's mask, he sensed a twisted smile.

"Why don't you be a good little fishy and kill him instead?"

Who was this guy. First he was acting all evil, and now he had the nerve to call Kisame a "fishy."

"I'll share my power with you," Tobi continued, "I wanted to share it with all of you from the beginning. Itachi wants it all for himself. Kill him, Kisame-kun."

Itachi looked at the man in disgust.

"You have no idea who this man is and what he is capable of. Strike him down, Kisame, now!"

He looked from his long time partner to the man they had been taking orders from all these years. They both seemed exhausted.

"Or," he grinned, showing his jagged teeth, "I could kill you both right now."

Itachi gave him a warning glance, but it wasn't as dangerous as it usually was. Tobi only smiled more. He sat cross legged and laughed.

"Whoever you choose to kill, you'd better do it fast. Itachi took most of the damage in our little fight. If you give me enough time to gather my chakra, I'll kill you both with my super ultimate one hit instant death technique."

"Tch. You're bluffing, you idiot."

Tobi brought his hands together.

"There's only one way to find out. Care to find out?"

Itachi was shouting now. "Kill him, Kisame, while he's still gathering chakra!"

"Kill Itachi," grinned Tobi, "and I'll give you all the power you desire."

He was in a tight spot. He stood between the two men, his hand hesitant on the grip of his sword. If he killed Itachi, Tobi promised to give him power, but he had no idea if he could trust him. But then again, he wouldn't be surprised if Itachi turned around and stabbed him in the gut at any time. If he was indecisive for too long, he was dead. He desperatley searched for any kind of sign to help him reach a decision, and he found it; something that ultimately made his final decision.

Samehada whirled through air and space. It's aim was true; it's intent to kill.


	34. How to Conquer Death

Greetings everyone! Well, I was sick (and quite miserable) today and I didn't go to classes, which sucked because I had two tests and a report due today. I always seem to get sick on the most important days of class, and when I do go to class we do absolutely nothing. So anyway, not going to classes gave me time to start (and finish) the chapter, so I guess one good thing came of being sick as hell. I never went back to the whole Kisame/Itachi/Tobi thing this chapter, but I'll get there next time.

Ok, well, right now I think I'll go and eat some chicken noodle soup and then take a nap.

Ciao.

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It had been a day. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura hadn't left his side in twenty-four hours. They had removed all of the needles that were still stuck in his body, and were now in the middle of the procedure to heal his external wounds. The problem was, it took a lot of time and energy to seal a single hole, and there were so many all over Naruto's body. A huge circle had been drawn around him on the floor; it was an advanced technique that was required in order to perform treatment such as this.

The three of them had taken turns getting some rest throughout the day, and right now it was Sakura's turn for a break. She sat beside Jiraiya, who also had not left the room since he came.

"You sure you're not hungry, kid? You'll need the energy," he told her.

"I had a little something a few hours ago, so I'll be fine. What about you, Jiraiya-sama? You haven't left at all…"

"I…don't want to leave yet…"

She knew how he felt. When she had first seen Naruto, she knew that the chance he had of living was small at best. She had almost lost herself crying again. But she knew better than to give up on him, and there was no way she was ever going to abandon him. For him, she had regained her composure and joined her shishou and senpai in their attempts to nurse him back to life.

Though they had made progress, his internal injuries presented the biggest threat to his life. Those would be the most difficult to heal. His bones had been pierced and splintered, his intestines, liver, and stomach were mush. On top of that, his arm had sustained huge amounts of nerve damage. On their separate breaks, Jiraiya had told the three kunoichi doctors exactly what had happened out there on the mission. They had all expressed their awed surprise when he told them what kind of jutsu the fuuton rasengan was. However, it had negative effects on the user, and Naruto's arm was in pretty bad shape.

Sasuke had tried to come and see him a few times along with Lee and Shikamaru, but Tsunade had not allowed them to enter. Both the old sannin and the young medical ninja looked up to see Tsunade approaching them.

"We'll be able to seal his external wounds within a few hours, but I've got to go and pick up some medicine from the Nara family and do some research as to how we're going to fix his internal injuries. Take a few hours to rest and go find something to eat. When you come back, switch with Shizune. I'll be back in a while."

For the first time in a day, she left the room. Jiraiya decided to go and keep her company.

Sakura didn't want to, but she knew that in order to save Naruto she'd have to rest up and get back to her full strength. She went to Naruto's house and found quite a few people there. Lee, Shikamaru, and Neji were there, and Hinata was there as well. They were all talking with Sasuke when Sakura entered the house.

They all turned to her hopefully. She told them the truth: it was still pretty bad. She ate with them, but no one could think of anything to say. She slept for about an hour and a half, and when she woke up a new crowd had arrived. Sasuke had to report back to the detention center to spend the night. Neji and Lee had to go, but Ino and Chouji were there. She thanked them for their support and headed back. She didn't want to keep Shizune waiting; she was probably tired and hungry as well.

The first med team had gone home and was replaced by another. They sat at certain points around the circle, their chakra feeding its healing properties. Shizune looked relieved when Sakura came to take over. The older girl told her the specifics of what she had done while Sakura was gone, and then she too left.

It was her job to finish the rest of his wounds, but after that, Tsunade had instructed them to wait for her return.

-xxx-

Precious hours passed in Konoha. The Hokage was sitting with her nose deep in medical books, and Jiraiya was sitting across from her, watching her eyes as they sifted up and down the pages. Her mouthed moved slightly as she read the words to herself softly. Whatever it was that she was reading, it caused her to frown.

"For that to work, we need samples from someone directly related to him. And seeing as how Minato and Kuina are long gone…"

Jiraiya couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Those injuries are pretty serious. He's not going to be able to fight anymore, is he?"

Her wandering eyes stopped and her lips stopped mouthing the words on the page.

"Right now," she said solemnly, "I'm more worried about saving his life."

"He won't want you to if he can't be a ninja anymore," said Jiraiya, "he's going to be very upset."

Tsunade ignored him.

She flipped through more pages, threw the current book aside, and opened a new one. After a few moments of searching the text, she stood up, and exclaimed, "Well, that might just work!"

Gathering all the books into one pile, she sighed. Without looking at him, she said, "It's not your fault, idiot."

He looked at her unexpectedly.

"I never said I thought it was," he replied.

She continued to gather her things in her arms. He didn't have to say anything. Tsunade knew that Jiraiya blamed himself for many things: Minato's sacrifice, Orochimaru's betrayal, the death of Sandaime, and now this. None of those things could have been helped, but mentally, Jiraiya had shouldered the blame. She repeated her words again slowly before taking her books and strolling out of the bar, leaving Jiraiya to sit alone with his drink. He poured himself another cup.

-xxx-

During Tsunade's absence, Naruto had been moved from the Hokage's tower to an operating room at the hospital. Shizune and Sakura kept watch over Naruto, monitoring his vital signs and making sure none of his wounds opened up again. Tsunade arrived at the hospital just before night came, and she pointed out the procedure she had found in the book that might help Naruto. It seemed very complicated and precise.

"We're going to have to be exact with everything," said Tsunade to her two pupils, "one mistake on our part, and he won't survive."

It was putting a lot of pressure on them, but Tsunade needed them to know the severity of the situation.

"The two of you are the most qualified medical ninjas that I have. Naruto is counting on us."

Tsunade remembered the softness of the kid's voice when he had spoken to her. He said, "The Old Lady is here...she'll make the pain go away..."

Shizune and Sakura continued to read the book as Tsunade explained to them specifically what needed to be done. When there were no more questions, they prepped for the procedure and got all the neccessary materials and medicines.

"Are you ready?" Tsunade asked as the three of them stared down at the unconscious Naruto. They nodded.

"Are you ready?" she asked the team of ninja sitting outside the circle. They nodded.

"Then let's begin."

It was a long and strenuous process, and it lasted them through the night.

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The gate guards hadn't had much of an exciting day today. People walked into the village. People walked out of the village. The guards sat there and watched them walk. It was a very boring cycle. At this time of night, however, no one was coming in and out of the village. The only exciting thing that had happened was that Jiraiya had come sprinting towards them in a cloud of dust, and that had been just about a day and a half ago.

The early morning was cloudy; it blocked the light of the stars and the moon. The two guards were playing a hand of cards to pass the time.

"You got any threes?" one asked the other.

"You fucking bastard! How did you know!?"

The man threw the three of clubs at his partners face, took the entire deck, and sent the cards flying everywhere. That had been the fifteenth time tonight he had lost.

"Oi, you two!" called the guard stationed on the tower, "there's some people coming."

The two gate guards stood at attention.

It was a group of shinobi, and they heard the tower guard call down to them.

"State your your name!"

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Password?"

"Oh, stop fooling around, Kanzo," called Kakashi, "there is no password."

"Haha!" the man laughed, "just being sure, Kakashi. Open the gate!"

The huge wooden doors creaked open slowly, allowing the group in. Approaching the gate guards, Kakashi held up a black sack.

"You two are bored, right? Here, you can play soccer with this."

He turned the sack upside down, and a severed head fell out. It was trying to yell, but it's mouth had been sealed shut. The eyes wandered angrily at the small crowd gathered around him.

"W-what!?" Naturally, the guards weren't used to seeing a live head.

"He's an Akatsuki," Kakashi explained.

The pair of them smiled.

"In that case, Tatsu, you be goalie!"

"Sure!"

"Hey, let's play baseball after this!"

Kakashi and the others grinned and left the guards to their fun. They went straight to the hospital, but as they suspected, no one was allowed inside the operation room. They backtracked to the lobby and found a few familiar faces: Shikamaru, Chouji, and Lee.

"Hey, welcome back," Shikamaru called.

"Are you guys here for Naruto?" asked Suki.

"Nah, we just like to hang out here sometimes," he said back.

She put forth all her energy to grin playfully at him.

"Thanks, you guys..."

The weary team all found their own seats. Temari sat next to Shikamaru, who grumbled at her presence. Sleep soon overcame all except Kakashi. Kankuro laid down across the length of five chairs. Suki and Akiko slept leaning on each other, and Temari slept sitting down, her head sliding down and resting on Shikamaru's shoulder. He just grumbled even more. Now if he moved, she would wake up and be mad at him. So troublesome...

A few hours had passed when Jiraiya came walking in, and he filled Kakashi in on everything he knew about the current situation.

"You should go home and rest, Kakashi," the sannin advised him, "they will probably be in there operating until way past morning."

The jounin was indeed tired, but somehow he didn't feel like sleeping. He and Jiraiya left to get some drinks. They grabbed Iruka who was on his way in, and the three of them went off to drown their worries.

It wasn't long before Shikamaru was asleep as well. Only two of them were up: Lee was doing pushups on the floor and Chouji was trying to keep quiet as he munched on a bag of chips. They looked up when they heard light footsteps coming down the hall. It was Shizune. She looked around the lobby.

"Good, they're here," she noticed Suki, Akiko, and the Suna ninja all sleeping.

She moved to Suki and gently shook her awake. She moved softly so that she wouldn't wake Akiko and looked at Shizune in question as she stretched delicately.

"We may need your help, Suki-chan," Shizune told her, "you can come into the emergency room now."

Suki silently followed her and waved at the two boys, who each nodded in turn to her before going back to push-ups and chewing. They entered the room together, and Suki saw Sakura and Tsunade working diligently, but looking tired. Tsunade turned to her and Shizune went back to her place.

The Hokage smiled. "He should be just fine. We only have a few things to finish befroe we're done."

But then, her face turned serious, and the relief that Suki was feeling disappeared again.

"But this part of the procedure will be the most difficult by far. We will need our timing to be precise," she explained.

Suki nodded. She would do whatever it took to help. "What do you need me to do?"

Tsunade took care not to let her see the gruesome sight.

"We've had to stop the flow of his blood so that his internal bleeding would stop while we worked on his external wounds and reconstructed his bone mass and organs. His system has suffered a sufficient amount of nerve damage, especially his arm. Right now, communication between Naruto's brain and the rest of his body is either damaged or non existant. What we'll need from you when we're done is an electrical impulse that will get his system functioning again."

"Um...okay..."

"Basically, under all the definitions of the word, Naruto would be considered dead. The only thing keeping him tied to this world is the energy of this circle we drew around him circle. We had to get him to this state in order to fix everything that was wrong with him so that his body wouldn't be able to reject any foreign substances we needed to use for repairing the damage. That's why this procedure was so dangerous, because if at any point we had made a mistake, it wouldn't have ended very well. That's where you come in. A strong electrical current should get his body active and working again."

"I can do that," said Suki uncertainly, "just tell me when."

"That's the tricky part. We're just about done here. When we finish, we'll have the med team stop giving their chakra to this jutsu, therefore stopping the jutsu keeping Naruto alive. At that point, we'll only have a few moments to jump-start his body. We're going to have to use an electrical current that is strong enough to revive him, but not too strong or else you'll just be doing more damage to him."

"Well, how much is that?"

"I don't know," Tsunade answered truthfully, "we're going to have to start out weak and get stronger until it works. The thing is, if we take too long to find the exact amount, his body will have been 'dead' for too long, and we'll never be able to start it up again."

"So, how long do we have?" asked Suki.

"No more than thirty seconds."

"O-okay then..." she said tentatively, "ready when you are, then."

Sakura and Shizune nodded.Tsunade gave the countdown.

"Three. Two. One. Now!"

The circle that encompassed the room disappeared.

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Naruto was walking. He was just walking; it seemed that it was the only thing to do in this weird place. There was nothing below him, yet he was standing. There was nothing to the sides or above; this place was just nothing. It did feel to him like he was floating in the sky, but he didn't know how that was possible, since the only thing he could see was the great, white, omnipototent empitness. He had tried once to stop walking, but pain had instantly taken over his body. He had also tried to walk in the direction he had come, but the pain was even greater. He could only walk forward for some reason, and he had no idea where he was going.

A weird black figure was materializing in front of him now. Naruto had paused from the astonishment, but the pain wouldn't let him. The thing took the shape of Iruka. Naruto called out to him, and the man seemed to hear him. But Naruto was moving further and further away from him, not being able to stop walking. More figures were popping up around him: Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Neji, Gaara, and all of his chuunin friends. There was Konohamaru and his team.

Naruto tried to talk to them, but he couldn't stop himself from walking further and further away from them. He tried to stop again, but it was just too painful. He was forced to keep walking.

It was Sasuke and Akiko now who appeared at his side. They reached their arms out to him, and Naruto tried to take ahold. Naruto tried to stop again, and bearing the pain, he walked back over towards them. They were almost within reach now. All he had to do was go a little further. But this pain was killing him. He screamed out loud, or would have if this vast, mysterious place had any sound. He couldn't take it, and he kept on walking, leaving Sasuke and Akiko staring after him.

Then, he saw what was up ahead. Well, he didn't see it, but he felt it. It was an end to the pain. He could feel the power rushing through him. Just a few more meters now, and all his pain would be gone. Emotional, physical: gone. He wanted to reach out and embrace this energy. Two more black images came before him.

Sakura. Suki.

He tried to get to them as fiercely as he had tried to get to Akiko and Sasuke, but to no avail. He could only keep walking forward towards the great, light feeling. He was getting closer to it. But each step he took towards this...whatever it was...the more he walked away from the two girls. One of them was the best friend he had ever had in this whole entire world and throughout his emotionally driven life. And the other one...

As he got closer to this warm, welcoming emotion, he was moving away from the people that he cared for. They were all looking at him, calling with mute voices and reaching out to him. They were the most important thing Naruto had in his life. He wanted to stay with them more than he yearned for the comfortable feeling that lurked just ahead.

Pain. Excruciating pain. He fought it as he trudged towards his friends with any and all strength he could muster. The closer he got to Sakura and Suki, the more he doubted that he would make it to them. Waves and waves of it shot through his body with every small movement he made. But he had already made up his mind. He was going to reach them or die trying.

With this pain, he was suprised he wasn't dead alerady. He was nearly there. Only a few paces to go until he'd be able to reach their figertips.

Naruto could still feel it behind him: the calm serenity was beckoning. It would have been so much easier and less painful if he just went to that place. Then again, Naruto never was the type to take the easy route. Honestly, he was surprised by his own ability to move forward. He was closing his eyes now, bearing agony that burned every ounce of his soul. But for his friends, he would bear the unbearable. He would do the impossible. He opened his eyes to see them just one step away. Sakura. Suki. He reached.

Blonde hair shot upwards as Naruto awoke, his body reacting to the sudden rush of electrical stimulation, his voice finally releasing the screams he had let loose. But he wasn't there anymore. There was color in this world. There was a wall, and a floor, and a ceiling. He had made it out, but the pain still echoed throughout his body. Was it only the memory of the pain he had been feeling, or was it real? He didn't know. It just hurt.

A voice called. It was right in front of him.

His eyes found the ones he had hoped for. Sakura and Suki were right there in front of him with a mixed look on their faces. Relief, happiness, exhaustion, amazement, tears. How stupid. He didn't want to see tears. He wanted to see something that told him he had made the right decision to leave that place-that golden feeling-behind.

"Do me a a favor."

He thought his voice was strong, but it came out as a mere whisper that the two girls had to lean in to hear.

"Smile."

They thought it to be an odd request, and they looked at each other before staring back at him.

"Are you deaf? I want you to smile."

And they did. Their cheeks lifted, their lips curved, their eyes sparkled, and their faces brightened. He grinned at then for a moment, but his muscles tightend and he collapsed onto his back again. As he faded back off into sleep, he knew.

It had been worthwhile, after all.


	35. Friends

What's up!? Thanks to everyone who gave their feedback last chapter. I think I replied to all of you but if I missed you, my bad.

Haha…guess what!? I actually did some planning for this chapter rather than just sitting down and typing. I made like a little outline, but we'll see how closely I choose to follow it.

I know I'm a bit late on the update, but it's lengthy; longer than any previous chapter, I think. Hopefully you won't find it too cumbersome to read…I'll honestly say that it's not very exciting (

Alright, well, I'll spare you any more of my nonsense and get on to the real reason why you're here… chapter 35!

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He was okay. He was all right.

Her cheek resting gently on her hand, Suki smiled down at Naruto from his bedside. She couldn't help it. He was okay. He was alive and well, sleeping soundly right here in front of her, most likely dreaming about one of two things: being Hokage or eating ramen.

Akiko watched Suki with a smile of her own. She was standing at the window, with the mellow rays of the sun leaking in and unfolding her small frame into a shadow that reached the opposite wall. Naruto had been sleeping ever since his miraculous revival, and she hadn't left his side. Suki left for a little while to pick up some things from back at Naruto's house. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura all needed a break, but they had agreed to takes turns checking up on him.

It was Sakura who broke the comfortable silence when she entered the room and said a quick hello to them. The first place her hand went was his forehead, and he seemed to stir at her soft touch. Her glowing hands examined his body like they always did, and she laid her head to his chest, checking his heartbeat and breathing. She concluded that everything was fine, but instead of leaving, she stayed in the room and had a seat on the floor against the wall. She still looked pretty tired; she had worked very hard to keep Naruto alive for a day and a half with very little sleep.

"Thank you Sakura-san," said Suki, looking over at her gratefully, "you saved his life."

Sakura gave her response with a cheerful smile.

"Naruto is strong; he pulled through. Even if we knew all the medical jutsu in the world, we can't give someone the will to stay alive. And in this case, that's what made the difference."

"Still, if it wasn't for you, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune-sempai, then he might not have made it," said Suki.

Getting to her feet and standing at the foot of Naruto's bed, Sakura gave a sigh at her sleeping comrade.

"I guess I can't really say 'well, it's just my job' this time. Naruto is a friend to all of us, and we all put our greatest effort into it. He's saved me so many times, and in more ways than one. I was just glad I got to do something for him for a change. That idiot makes it so hard for other people to even get the chance to help him…"

That's why Sakura had been so worried for the past three years. That boy never really gave any actual thought to his actions; he followed his heart and his instinct without delay and without realization of the possible consequences. But it looked like he had found some good friends to look after him in these two girls who were now hovering at his bed.

Suki read into Sakura's expression. She remembered so many stories that Naruto had told about this pink-haired girl, and he used to go on and on about how great she was. A small, disheartening smile forced its way to her lips, and she looked back down to her sleeping team mate, leader, and friend.

"You're really an amazing person, Sakura-san," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Sakura grew bashful at the compliment, and she scratched the top of her head humbly: a mirror image of Naruto.

"I-I'm not all that great," she said, "remember, you had an important part in it, too, Suki-san. Your jutsu really helped us."

The blonde girl remained silent and Akiko said nothing.

It wasn't long until Sasuke joined them in the room, and it got just a little crowded when Shizune came. A small conversation sparked. Shizune and Sakura told the others about the steps they had gone through to save Naruto and the injuries that he had sustained. They were in the middle of explaining a very complicated medical procedure when the sleeping boy began to stretch, and they all looked at him as his blue eyes slowly brought him back into the light of the world.

"Naruto!" many voices exclaimed.

"Welcome back!"

"How do you feel?"

He stared back at all the people in the room who were awaiting his reply. He asked a question of his own.

"How long has it been?"

"It's been about three days since Jiraiya-sama found you," answered Akiko.

"How do you feel?"

"Do you feel pain anywhere?"

Shizune and Sakura pestered him with questions again. How did he feel? There was only one thing he was feeling right now…

"Oi, Suki," he called, looking at her with hopeful eagerness.

She smiled, reached into the box of things she had brought, and unwrapped the package of noodles. She put it in a bowl, added water, and had Sasuke heat it up. The others were surprised that she had already gotten these things ready before Naruto had even woken up.

"Here," was all she said when she handed it to Naruto.

He hadn't eaten for three days. Knowing him, the only thing he was thinking about right now was food. Suki had come prepared.

Naruto sniggered as he took the bowl from her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he said gleefully.

"That's right," she said back, "you need me!"

"Eh?" came Naruto, his mouth already full of noodles, "I was talking to the ramen."

Suki's sense of pride dwindled.

"Tch. Baka…"

The room fell to an amusing silence, but then the two doctors of the room came at him with questions again.

"I'm fine," he told them, "my body just feels a little heavy and slow, but that's about it."

They were all talking to him while he ate, and he tried his best to absorb what they were saying while cherishing the ramen that had been so readily provided for him. They were all talking about how the fight had gone down, and Akiko told Naruto about how she had defeated Hidan.

"You should have seen it, Maki-san," she said, "I got the idea from watching you all the time."

Naruto just nodded and slurped. Mostly everything that was being said to him wasn't quite reaching his brain. They eventually realized that he wasn't really paying attention they conversed amongst themselves while he satisfied three days worth of hunger. Sasuke was standing in the corner, watching Naruto like he wanted to talk in person. They would get their chance.

After the entire box Suki brought was cleared out, Naruto sat rubbing his belly in delight. What a great meal it had been. He proceeded to find his way into the many conversations that were taking place around the room.

Suki, Akiko, Sakura, and Sasuke never left, but Naruto attracted several sets of visitors throughout the day. Shikamaru, Lee, and Kiba's teams dropped by when they could, and Naruto's three senseis: Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Iruka had all come, but at separate times. They had seemed quite interested in Naruto's fight with this Paine character.

There had been a few unexpected arrivals, like Kurenai, Anko, and another handful of jounin that Naruto didn't know. They told Naruto that this was a good chance for him to get acquainted with his fellow jounin.

Temari and Kankuro stopped by to say goodbye before reporting back to Gaara.

After a while, the excitement died down, and it was only the regular four people in the room with him. At long last, Tsunade came in. The Hokage told everyone else that she had to speak to Naruto privately.

"Feeling better, kid?" she asked when the others had left.

"Well, seeing as how I'm not dying anymore, yeah, I'm fine," he laughed.

She tossed his clothes to him.

"They were all bloody and full of holes, so I had them cleaned and mended for you."

"Thanks."

"And I believe these are yours too," she said, holding up the two necklaces that he treasured so much.

She watched as Nartuo secured them around his neck.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Old Lady," he said.

Her small smile shined for him.

"We were worried about you, kid. You gave us quite a scare. Sakura told me you were feeling fine, but you're still in pain, right?"

She knew. Of course she did; she was like the greatest medical ninja in the world. Holding up a cup of green liquid, she said, "This should help."

He took it and drank, wincing at the taste. She laughed as his mouth twisted at the bitterness, and he scowled at her for doing so.

But her expression turned grave; this wasn't the main reason she had come here. It was about time to break the news to him. She wasn't sure how he'd take it.

"Listen, Naruto. Your injuries were pretty bad: worse than Lee's were after he fought Gaara."

Naruto wasn't looking at her anymore, he was staring at the floor. Had he been expecting this?

"Even I can't heal everything. We repaired you, but you're body will never be the same. You'll get injured easier. You'll get tired faster. You have limitations now. Naruto, I don't think being a ninja is an option for you anymore."

She looked at him with empathy. His face remained hidden and his eyes were on the floor, but he looked up at her when he spoke. If he was upset and sad, he certainly wasn't showing it and his expression was normal. His voice was confident and commanding.

"Granny Hokage, you might be the most knowledgeable person about medical stuff, but I think this time you're wrong."

Tsunade just stared at him. Should she tell him how badly his nervous system was damaged? Should she tell him how his bones were literally in pieces? She knew he could feel it in his arm and throughout his entire body.

"Just give me some time. I'll be back out there kicking bad guy ass soon enough."

Then, she spotted that flicker in his eyes that he always got. She had seen it when they first met. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing was going to keep him from fulfilling his dream. When the odds were stacked against him, that's when he fought the hardest.

"Believe me, I don't take joy in telling you this, but don't give yourself any false hope, kid. You'll just end up disappointing yourself."

The determination only burned brighter in his eyes.

"I can't accept that. And as soon as I give up, it's all over. Old Lady…when I was fighting Paine, I already knew after a minute or two that he was way out of my league. I'd never felt that way before; even I doubted my chances of winning. Nothing I did worked. But you know what? I didn't give up. The thought of it never even crossed my mind. I kept fighting, no matter what. I decided that I was either going to beat him, or I was going to die. Getting captured wasn't an option."

He continued and Tsunade just listened.

"I beat him. And there I was, laying face first in the mud, miserable. I couldn't move, and my body hurt all over. I don't know much about medicine, but I'm pretty sure I should have been dead. The pain was unbearable. To tell you the truth, I was scared. Not really afraid to die, but…I was just afraid. I could have stopped it. I could have given in. But here I am, right here in front of you. Look, I know you're the best, Old Lady, but don't think I'm just going to sit here and listen to someone tell me what I can and can't do. I have to keep going forward: never accepting defeat."

She just smiled. This boy…sometimes he just had a way with words that was impossible to refuse.

"Fine," she said, giving in, "do what you want. I'll…see what I can do to help."

His triumphant face beamed, and Tsunade sighed before leaving. But Naruto caught her as she left.

"Oi, Granny Hokage."

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Don't tell anyone that I was scared, especially Sasuke."

"Heh…I won't. Now, as your doctor, I'm ordering you to go outside and get some fresh air. It'll do you good. I have to get back to doing my official Hokage business," she said, trying to sound important.

"More paperwork?" asked Naruto.

"Shut up."

He followed her out and bid her farewell, and he turned to where his four friends had been waiting. But he looked specifically at Sasuke.

"Sasuke…"

"Yeah?"

"Old Lady Tsunade said that fresh air would do me some good. You want to come along with me?"

"Sure," said Sasuke indifferently as he stood.

The three girls caught his hint and let the two of them go off together. From the hospital, they took a right, heading for the stadium where they had fought in the chuunin exams.

"So, you got yourself beaten on pretty badly, huh?" said a smug Sasuke.

"Shut it, you bastard. You would have died in like three seconds if you faced that guy!"

"I doubt that."

Naruto flashed him an annoyed look which Sasuke pretended to not see. Comparing themselves to each other and arguing about it was nothing out of the ordinary. But what Sasuke was about to say was definitely out of the ordinary; they had always shied away from deep, meaningful conversation in their friendship. Perhaps it was because they understood each other so well that there was really no need for it.

"Naruto," he started, not sure of how he was going to say this, "I…about this whole thing…"

"Sasuke."

Typical Naruto. He cut him off before he could even begin to say how he felt. Sorry. Thank you. Sasuke wanted to tell him these things.

"Itachi is still out there. When you get that seal completely removed and I make a full recovery, we'll go after him together, deal?"

"Yeah."

They walked farther and entered the arena, taking the first two empty seats in the top row. Both of them reflected back on what had happened here.

"So, did you take Sakura-chan out?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah."

"How much do I owe that old chef?"

"Not much. You know, you didn't have to do that, Naruto."

Naruto just gave a short laugh, but that was it.

"You're not going to ask for details or anything?" asked Sasuke.

"Nope. Your business, not mine."

That was not expected. Sasuke thought that he'd be full of questions. But perhaps, at the moment, telling him stories about time together with Sakura wouldn't be the best of ideas. Naruto wouldn't like him pressing the subject, but he went and did it anyway.

"I just wish I didn't have to feel so guilty around her all the time."

Naruto sighed. "Do we really have to have this talk again?"

"You should at least tell her."

Naruto didn't feel like talking about this with him for the hundredth time, so he said nothing.

"If you think she's worth fighting for, then why aren't you?"

"You dumbass!" Naruto snapped, standing to face Sasuke, "why do you think I've been fighting all this time, trying to get you back!? It was for her…and for you. It was so that you two could be together! I saw how she cried when you left. She wouldn't have cried like that for just a friend: for me. It wasn't easy for me to stand there and watch her. I knew that the only way she was ever going to be happy again was if I brought you back. And you: you were lonely. You needed someone…special. You needed Sakura-chan to be happy as much as she needed you. And now I'm glad that you're together. It's what I've always wanted for the both of you."

Sasuke was dazed by his words. Naruto was breathing heavily, and he collapsed back into the seat.

"Geez," he laughed, "what's wrong with you, making a fragile, recovering patient like me get so worked up?"

Sasuke had no idea what to say. He wanted to apologize, but Naruto wouldn't want him to. This is what he always wanted for him and Sakura. But what about him?

They sat side by side, staring at the emptiness of the stadium.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"What?"

"Why don't you and I have a little match?" Naruto suggested, pointing down at the arena floor.

"What!?"

"Ah, come on! You remember don't you? I won in the first round, and you were beating Gaara. We probably would have ended up fighting each other in round two. So, what do you say?"

"But Naruto," he argued, "you just got out of the hospital. Tsunade-sama said that you shouldn't be in action for a while."

"Yeah, I'm pretty banged up," Naruto admitted, "but you've got a handicap too."

It was against his better judgment, but it wasn't like they were going to be able to do much to each other anyway. They were just going to mess around a little.

They jumped out onto the battlefield and stood at opposite ends.

"All right, you ready, Sasuke?"

"Bring it on, loser."

It wasn't really much of a fight. The two of them just threw a few weak strikes at other.

"You know, back at the chuunin exams, I probably would have won," stated Sasuke, "I had the speed advantage on you from training with Kakashi."

"No way!" countered Naruto, "you've always had the speed advantage on me, but that never stopped me, now did it?"

"You hadn't learned rasengan yet. You had no way of countering chidori," Sasuke said back.

"What are you talking about? I'd just use shadow clones to stay away from you and look for an opening."

"My taijutsu was always better than yours too, but during the chuunin exams, I think that's when our taijutsu strength was at its greatest difference," was Sasuke's next argument.

"Your taijutsu wasn't THAT much better than mine. Besides, I could summon toads at that point. You hadn't learned snakes yet."

"But you couldn't really control your summons back then. It wouldn't have made a difference."

Throughout the argument, they had gotten more and more serious. Their strikes were faster now and less sloppy.

"And then after I beat you," said Naruto, "I would've gone on to beat either Shikamaru or Shino to win the tournament."

"Nope," said Sasuke, dodging Naruto's fastest punch yet, "I would have been champion."

Naruto was already feeling at his limit, but he tried to move even faster. He came at Sasuke with a kick, but he felt something in his lower back give out. A loud crack echoed in the high walls of the stadium. All movement ceased. Naruto's face darkened in pain. One wobbly leg kept him standing.

Sasuke hurried to support his weight.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hehe…I think we may have gone a bit too far."

They shared a quick laugh as they headed to the exit.

"Hey, Sasuke, let's not tell the girls about this. Just tell them we were walking when it happened," said Naruto.

"My thoughts exactly."

Together, they wobbled slowly back to the hospital.

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Kisame cupped his hands and dipped them into the cool, running river. He took a drink at splashed his face, then stood up and turned to the person behind him.

"So you got a plan?"

The Uchiha nodded before he too knelt near the water and filled his canteen.

He had told Kisame everything: the true story behind Akatsuki, the Uchiha clan, and how everything tied together. It had been one of the conditions in exchange for saving his life. It hadn't been easy though; the one he killed still had some fight left in him, and he gave the rogue Mist ninja some trouble. Kisame had thought he knew a lot of things about the clan and the goal of his organization, but it turned out that he hadn't even scratched the surface.

"You mind filling me in on that plan?" he asked.

Itachi smoothed his hair back and let the water run down his neck and back.

"Konohagakure," was what he said.

Kisame nodded and stood up, the river providing the refresher that he needed. He had figured as much. It was back to that damn village. But he didn't mind. Killing a few Leaf ninja was certainly worth the troublesome trip.

-xxx-

Things had gone better than Kabuto originally planned. He had obtained five rings: one from a corpse with no head, one from a corpse that was barely distinguishable as human, one from a masked corpse in a cave, and one from Kakuzu who wasn't much of a challenge with his hearts gone. Then there was the one he had gotten from a woman he had come across. She had given it to him willingly, saying something about her partner dying and not having a reason to keep it. There were only two left: Itachi and Kisame.

His plans with Danzou were going to have to be changed again. He couldn't have Itachi running around. Kabuto was going to have to find a way to get rid of them and get his hands on their prizes. It was all going to be decided very soon. He was going to have to utilize the fact that ROOTS was on his side. Things were going to get very interesting when he arrived back in Konoha. That's where it was all going to happen.

He gave a mad chuckle that continued uncontrollably. He snapped back to reality as suddenly as he had started.

Itachi was going to be there, Kabuto was sure of it. There was something there that both of them needed. It was the boy. Naruto was the key to everything.

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Naruto was in bed again. According to Sakura, he had suffered some nerve damage in his back, and he didn't think she totally bought his "it just happened while I was walking" story.

Konohamru, Moegi, and Udon had come, and he was amazing them with his story of victory. He was telling them about the huge blue explosion that could be seen from miles around. They were all listening with wonderment. However, Naruto was keeping one eye on Ebisu, who was eyeing Akiko and Suki. He promised that he'd go and show them some new jutsu when he felt better, and Konohamaru said that he had some new techniques of his own.

They left, and so did Sasuke when the evening came around. Sakura hadn't been able to stay after he and Sasuke had come back, but Suki and Akiko were there as always. The three of them ate at Naruto's favorite place. The old man and his daughter were happy to see him up and about; or maybe they were just happy to see that their main source of income had returned.

Naruto sat in the middle. These two girls had been with him all day except for when he had talked with Sasuke.

"You guys will probably be going on missions without me for a little while. I have to work on getting back to my normal strength."

"Don't worry about us, Maki-san, you just focus on making a full recovery so that Rakugosha can have its leader back."

"You know, he said, "I never really officially agreed to that name. I think we should change it."

"Why?" asked Suki, "It's a good name."

"Who the hell is going to be afraid of a group called 'dropout?'" he said.

"We've already made quite a name for ourselves. That's how Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-san found us in the first place," said Akiko. "And you can't complain, Kitsune, you have a cool codename. Suki and I don't have one."

"You can be known as Chibi," Naruto said to her.

She was still suspended in the moment just before unleashing on him when Naruto covered up.

"I'm injured, Aki-chan! You can't!"

"Well then, get better soon…"

The whole time, Naruto found himself looking at Suki from the corner of his eye. How could he forget what he was feeling right before he was revived? There was the pain, but there had been something else as well. He had been thinking of how terrible it would be to never see Suki again.

He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to just look at her. He was trying to do so as inconspicuously as possible, but he wasn't really getting a good look at her that way. He felt stupid; he had seen her pretty much every day for the past two and a half years, but somehow he felt different. She was sitting right beside him. How many times had they been this close over the years? Too many times to count. Yet, something was calling out for him to reach out and touch her.

"It's been pretty crazy for us the past month, hasn't it?" she said.

"Yeah," said Akiko, "a lot has happened."

Naruto found himself playing with Takahiro's pendant with his fingertips.

All three of them became nostalgic, thinking about what they had to go through to get here.

Akiko was so thankful for the two people sitting to her right. She remembered the first time she began to feel attached to her leader.

"_Naruto-san…can I talk to you for a second?"_

_He had volunteered for the first night watch shift. The others were sleeping around the fire. Naruto was standing off to the side, looking out at nothing in particular._

"_Sure, what's up?"_

"_Well, you were honest with us today and told us that you might lose control of yourself in a fight. Well…I wasn't totally honest with everyone. It could happen to me, too."_

"_The curse mark, right? Sasuke lost control of it sometimes too," he said, no longer staring off._

"_It's just that, I hate it when I lose control. It feels like…like…"_

"_It's like watching yourself doing horrible things and you can't do anything about it. It's bloodlust and rage, and when you finally snap out of it you feel empty inside."_

"_So it's the same way with you?" she asked._

"_Yeah."_

"_I'm scared…it might take over when I'm fighting someone too strong for my normal self to handle."_

_Naruto nodded. She could tell by the way he looked that he understood completely._

"_I'll tell you what," he said, "if you're ever afraid that you're going to lose it, just sit back and leave it to me. I'll take care of it so you won't have to strain yourself."_

_He was asking her to trust him. She hadn't had anyone to trust for a long time, but looking in to his eyes right now, she felt safe._

"_Why did you bring all of us together like this?" she asked._

"_Why go on being alone when we can all help each other?" he said. "Oh, and by the way, does your curse seal form look really cool?"_

"_Idiot…let's hope you don't have to see it."_

It was then that her loyalty to him had been so strongly affirmed, and he never let her down, not once.

Suki remembered when she first started to realize her feelings for him. She couldn't really point out a single event; it had been a gradual progression. It was hard for her not to put her faith and trust in him early on. He was the very center of the group and he was the one that kept them together. She found herself telling him things she felt uncomfortable telling the others, and she always savored his company. No, she couldn't pick a single event that had made her fall for him, but the bond between them got stronger and stronger the more time they spent together.

Naruto was thinking about Takahiro, Baine, and Sato. It would be so great if they could be here with them, laughing and eating ramen in the empty seats. It wasn't alcohol, but he raised his glass. Seeing this, the two girls copied him, and he made a toast.

"To those who should be here stuffing their faces with us."

They touched glasses and drank, smiling at all the great memories that they would keep with them forever.

After dinner, he paid for the meal as well as what he owed Sakura and Sasuke's little date. He walked slowly behind Akiko and Suki as they made their way back, and Naruto called Akiko to walk with him. She pulled back, leaving Suki wondering what they were talking about.

"What is it, Maki-san?"

"Well, um…do you, uh…well, do you…"

Akiko waited patiently for him to get it all out.

"Do you think that someone can have feelings for more than one person?"

"Why, do you?" she said, suddenly excited.

"I don't know, but I feel something different when I'm around Suki now."

He described to her what he had felt in that distant dream world. He told her about how he just wanted to look at her during dinner. And Akiko listened. She was almost too excited to talk.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked her at the end.

"Hmm…maybe you should talk with her."

"N-no way! She's one of my best friends, and it's bad enough just having these kinds of weird feelings about her! Promise me you won't say anything!"

Did she really have to? She certainly didn't want to.

"Fine. I promise."

She skipped back over to Suki, who wondered what she was so happy about. Akiko had known for a long time how Suki felt, and now she knew how Naruto felt. At that moment, she made it her ultimate goal to make sure that they ended up together.


	36. An Almost Perfect Day

Hello…

It's been a longer wait than usual, but with all these tests and midterms and studying and homework going on, I haven't really had that much time. Curse you, school! It's a little lengthy though, but not a lot happens. I'm still trying to run through how everything is going to go down, so I guess this is just stalling on my part.

No outline or planning this time, just straight out typing what comes to mind at the moment. I'm too lazy to plan ahead, and I think I work better this way anyway. Okay then, enough from me…I'll get on with it already.

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Another day: that's all it was. There was nothing particularly special going on; nothing out of the ordinary. Naruto started this day just like he did any other: a cup of instant ramen with his friends. He had never taken anything he had for granted, and his friends had always been the most treasured things in his life, but his near fatal experience seemed to have changed his feelings a little bit. It made him look at the world in a different light and appreciate things more deeply than he had before.

Akiko and Suki took note of Naruto's happy demeanor. He was acting very cheerful this morning. They had been expecting a different attitude from him, since Sakura and Sasuke had planned to spend most of the day together. They were usually good at guessing his mood, but the two girls weren't quite sure if he was really happy right now, or if it was just a cover. He noticed their glances and smiled at them without saying a word. As the fastest eater between the three of them, he finished first and stood up to leave the table. Positioning himself between them, he ruffled their hair playfully like he always did when he wanted to get on their nerves. Their annoyed mumbles of protest seemed to satisfy him, and he retired to his room to get changed.

The past few days had been a little rough with his recovery, and although it was coming to him in tiny steps; progress is progress. He was going to the hospital every day, and Tsunade and Shizune were working very closely with him. His little physical therapy sessions were frustrating. Basic things that should come naturally to him were challenging. His reflexes, strength, stamina, and coordination were far from what his normal level. His friends had offered to go with him for support, but there was no way that he was going to let any of them see him struggling, especially not Sasuke.

His appointments with Tsunade were always first thing in the morning, so he waved goodbye to Suki and Akiko, who were left by themselves to wonder why he was in such a good mood, or what could he be thinking of that was causing him trouble that he didn't want them to know about.

The villagers. There had always been a wall of hatred separating them from him. He still felt it to this day: the cold void between them. As a child, sometimes he would wish that he was invisible so that he could avoid their angry stares. But sometimes he felt so invisible that he thought he was only imagining himself and his existence. Although some of the villagers had come to accept him, there were still those who wanted him gone. Someday he had hoped that he would be able to walk down these streets without getting such a feeling, but perhaps that was hoping too much. Even if he was the Hokage, people would still fear and hate him for what he was. But unlike his childhood, he had caring friends now. These people who hated him were only a mere annoyance.

He made it through the crowds on the street and entered the hospital lobby. The receptionist at the desk had become used to seeing him at this time of day, and she welcomed him with a smile. He went down the hall to the usual room, but instead of Tsunade and Shizune, Sakura was there waiting for him. He forgot that Tsunade had told him that she would be in a meeting today.

"Ah," he said at this unexpected encounter, "Sakura-chan!"

"Hey, Naruto. Good morning," she greeted him.

Naruto wasn't exactly unhappy to see her, but he wondered what she was doing here. Tsunade and Shizune were okay because they were older, big sister and parental type figures. He didn't want Sakura to watch him struggle to do the simplest of things.

"You gonna be my doctor today?" he asked.

"Yeah. But don't think I'm going to let you slack off!" she told him, smiling.

It was supposed to be her day off. That's why she had made plans.

"Sorry for bothering you today, Sakura-chan," he said, moving over to the chair and sitting across from her.

She waved off his apology. "It's not a problem or anything," she said, "I've been busy lately, so I wanted to come and see how you were doing."

"Well then…where should we start today, doctor?"

She started with the usual things, testing his limits and analyzing the response of his muscles and bones to certain stresses and strains. She walked him through the same strength and flexibility exercises that Tsunade usually did, and Naruto did his best to make it seem like none of these things were challenging at all.

But Sakura saw right through him. Tsunade had told her that he had refused to let anyone else in the room, "especially Sasuke." That's why both Tsunade and Shizune had denied her access to this room when Sakura had wanted to check up on him. But they had no other choice than to let her come today. Both of them had to attend an important meeting, and they couldn't deny that Sakura would be best suited for the job.

Now, he was holding his right arm out straight in front of him, palm up, just like she had asked.

"Okay, Naruto," she explained, "I'm going to put a weight in on your hand, and I want you to keep your hand raised just like that for a whole minute. This will measure the strength and muscle endurance of your arm."

"Uh…okay," was his reply.

She reached for the circular weight and placed it in his hand. She moved her hands under his arm, supporting the weight.

"Ready?"

Naruto nodded. She let go of his arm, and Naruto was forced to hold up the entire mass of the weight. Fifteen seconds in, she could already tell he was having a hard time. Thirty seconds in, his whole arm started to shake. Forty seconds: sweat was running down his forehead. She could see the disappointment within him. This must be pretty hard for someone like him, whose dream was to be the strongest. He had trained so hard his entire life to be the equal of those who were naturally talented, and here he was, unable to perform simple tasks. For him, it was probably like starting all over again. He was feeling weak and helpless right now, and he must be hating it.

Ten more seconds. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You can do it," she said with encouragement.

Time expired and she took the weight from his hand She set it down and quickly examined his arm. It was fine.

"Great job, Naruto," she praised him.

Naruto just stared at the weight. He wondered how heavy it was. Sakura seemed to lift it without any trouble at all.

He looked discouraged. She laid her hand on his shoulder again and smiled softly. With her around, Naruto couldn't stay down for long. Here she was, in front of him, with a smile on her face. She was…

He shook off his intimate thoughts about her and buried them down deep. He shouldn't be having these thoughts anymore. She had another date with Sasuke today.

The rest of the routine went along rather quickly. After it was finished, they chatted for a little bit while Sakura gathered everything she had used into a big bag. Actually, Naruto did most of the talking and Sakura just laughed at how goofy and animated her partner was. She could act naturally in front of Naruto. When she first got together with Sasuke, she had spent half the time worrying whether or not she was doing or saying the right things, a feeling that had not completely gone away yet. She had never felt that way towards Naruto, so hanging around his carefree attitude was nice. Konoha just wasn't the same without those two.

She was awakened from her thoughts as Naruto stood.

"Well, I don't want keep you here any longer than you have to be, so I'll head back."

"I'll go with you," she said, "Sasuke-kun said he had to take care of a few things first, and that he'd meet me back at your place when he's done."

They walked along pleasantly. At least, Naruto thought it was pleasant until he turned to see that Sakura was frowning.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What are you planning on doing today?" she asked him.

"Oh, I don't know. I told Konohamaru and the others that I'd go and see them today. I guess they want to show me how much they've grown up."

Sakura was just remembering how Naruto had been injured in the past, but still went out and trained.

"Hmph. Just don't go out and train. You'll get yourself hurt," she said as she eyed him.

"Hehe…" Naruto laughed, "so I guess Sasuke told you, huh?"

"Told me what?" Sakura asked, her gaze intensifying.

Naruto messed up. Just now, he had ruined it for the both of them.

"Uh…nothing!"

"What did you guys do?" her eyes narrowed and searched his.

He knew that threatening look. Now that she knew something was up, she wasn't going to let it go, so he told her what had happened at the arena.

"Sasuke-kun should have known better…" she sighed. When it came to their rivalry, both of her team mates lost the capacity to think clearly.

Naruto's laugh came warily. "Well, as long as I have Sakura-chan around to heal me, I'll be fine, right?"

She didn't look amused.

"No!" she snapped, "just because Tsunade-shishou, Shizune-sempai, and I are here, that doesn't mean you can just go and do reckless things whenever you want!"

She lowered her voice, but she was still scolding him.

"I worry about you because you always do stupid things. So…just be careful when you're out on missions, okay?"

He took a moment to consider her words before he responded.

"You don't have to worry about me, Sakura-chan," he said, giving her a thumbs up, "I'm going to be Hokage."

Sakura mouthed the second part of his sentence along with him as she rolled her eyes. He always said so, but it would be hard for anyone not to worry for someone they care about.

"Seriously, Sakura-chan, are you going to worry that pretty little forehead of yours every single time me and Sasuke go out on a mission?"

He was looking right into her eyes now.

"He's strong, and I'm stronger than him," Naruto added with a grin, "so just have faith in us and we'll always come back."

He was a hyperactive idiot, but Naruto had his moments. She had seen his ability to change people: the villagers of the Wave Country, Gaara, Tsunade, Sasuke, and herself. Even the Demon of the Hidden Mist was brought to tears by his words and actions. Naruto was that kind of person. This guy was undoubtedly a rare find. Sakura's fondness for him was too strong for words to describe.

Suki was the only one there when they got back to the house. Akiko had gone to the market to pick up a few things for Naruto's kitchen. With the three of them staying there and Sasuke and Sakura stopping by all the time, his food supply always needed restocking. Naruto needed a bigger refrigerator; he was only used to feeding himself, so he never really needed a big one.

So here he was, alone with Sakura and Suki. The blond was listening to the pink haired girl explain how Naruto's session went and why she was here. Naruto wasn't really sure why, but Suki always seemed less talkative when Sakura was around. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Footsteps were ascending the stairs outside. The three of them turned to see Sasuke standing in the doorway.

"Yo," was his simple greeting.

Suki and Naruto gave a "yo" in reply, and Sakura greeted him with an exclusive smile.

"Shall we go then, Sasuke-kun?" she said.

"Y-yeah."

They both gave Naruto a cheerful glance (with Sasuke's being discreetly cheerful) as they paused in the doorway, and then they were off. Naruto smiled after them before going back inside.

"You okay?" asked Suki as he sat next to her.

"Fine," he said, but a moment or two later he said something different.

"I…want them to be with each other, and I try my hardest not to feel this way. Somewhere deep down inside, I think I'm jealous. Does that make me a bad person?"

Seeing him like this... he wanted to be completely selfless for the sake of his friends, but it was beyond human emotional possibility to do so. She reached for his hand with both of hers.

"Baka…of course not. Of course not."

Naruto felt instant warmth being next to Suki when she scooted towards him and drew him close. Her shoulder was soft, and he couldn't resist the temptation to take in the fragrance of her clothes and hair. He wanted to be this close to her, well maybe not forever, but…. just a little longer wouldn't hurt.

When Akiko came back, they still hadn't moved from their position. She shook her head. They had to be the dumbest people she knew. Look at them, they made a perfect couple. Couldn't Suki see that no one ever saw this side of Naruto except for her. Naruto wasn't afraid to show his emotions to people, but there was no way he would even dream of letting anyone else see him distressed like this besides Suki. Sure, Akiko had seen him like this before, but Suki was the only one he went to for comfort. He only came to Akiko when his problem involved Suki. Akiko sighed at both of them as she opened the door.

Naruto jumped up quickly. He felt like he had just snapped out of a daze as he took a few bags out of Akiko's hands. What had he been thinking just now; and only a few moments after he had been thinking of Sakura…

"Looked like you two were having quite a moment," she whispered to him as they moved to the kitchen.

"I'll tell you about it later," said Naruto, watching as Suki made her way over to them to inspect what Akiko had brought.

With the cabinets nice and full of food, they bummed around the house for half an hour before deciding to head out and see what the day had in store for them. And what they found was Shizune. She had come looking for Suki. Tsunade had assigned her a mission at last. Akiko and Naruto tagged along with them to see what the mission was all about.

Tsunade had been expecting the three of them to come together, and she greeted them all with a small nod as they stepped into her office.

"Suki, I have a mission for you," she got straight to the point as always.

The blonde girl's eyes followed Tsunade's movements as she held out a piece of parchment. The Hokage read the mission request.

"The leader of the small village Kiyoshi has requested that Konoha send ninja to protect a precious relic that has been the symbol of their village for generations. Another village, which has quite a bloody history with Kiyoshi, has threatened to steal it, and it is believed that they have hired ninja from Amegakure to do it."

Tsunade handed Suki the mission outline. It was a B-rank.

"From what I've seen, I trust in your ability to lead a squad for this mission, and you've received a high recommendation from a credible source," Tsunade nodded in Naruto's direction. "But if you don't think you're ready to lead, then I'll go with one of the more experienced jounin."

Suki shook her head. "No, Tsunade-sama, that won't be necessary. I'm ready."

"Good. For this mission, you will have a team of three chuunin at your disposal. Of the chuunin who are here in the village not out on missions, only Rock Lee and Ten-ten are off limits; I have another assignment set up for them. Choose a three man group and depart for Kiyoshi before noon."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Suki gave a low bow.

Akiko did the same, and Naruto just grinned and waved.

When they were gone, Shizune tapped Tsunade on the shoulder.

"I thought you were going to tell Naruto the news," she said to her master.

"I changed my mind."

"Why is that?"

"Because," said Tsunade, "it's better if he thinks he's doing it by himself. If he knows that the kyuubi's chakra is helping him recover, he won't have any sense of accomplishment at the end."

"How long until he's up to full strength, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade smiled. "I read the report Sakura left. He performed two times better than yesterday. That's way too fast of an improvement for the condition he was in. At this rate, he'll be running around and causing havoc in a little over a week."

-xxx-

"Your first mission as a Leaf ninja! Are you excited?" asked Akiko as they waited at the gate.

"It's just another mission, I suppose," replied Suki.

"I wonder when I'll get mine," pondered Akiko, "I'd prefer a solo mission, though."

"Why is that?" the other girl asked.

"I can't stand working in groups. It annoys me."

Suki rolled her eyes at her and they smiled together.

"You're dumb, Kiko…"

It took longer than Suki would have liked, but Naruto came back with the team that she had selected. Ino was the eager one, and she walked tall at the head of the group. Chouji wasn't really watching where he was going, and he almost bumped into five people because his concentration was on his bag of snacks. Shikamaru walked behind them with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey! Suki!" Ino called, "we're going on a mission together! That's so awesome!"

"It's not as exciting as you make it sound," groaned Shikamaru.

"Munch…munch…munch…" Chouji ate.

"Hey everyone. Did Naruto tell you about the mission?" asked Suki.

Ino frowned. "No. When I asked him about it, he just said, 'kill the bad guys and then come home.'"

Naruto defended himself. "Well, was I wrong?"

Suki shook her head and took a moment to explain the details to them.

"Well…let's get it over with, then," said Shikamaru.

"That's not the right attitude!" scolded Ino, "you have to say, 'let's do this, guys!'" She pumped her fist in the air.

Instead of pumping his fist in the air, Shikamaru reached for the bag of chips that Chouji was devouring. The round ninja pulled back.

"It's down to the last bite, Shikamaru. You should know that I'll never give it up!"

Ino went from being energetic to having a sour look on her face.

"You guys are so lame," she pouted.

"Uh…anyway, let's get going, you guys," Suki said, giving her first orders to the team.

"Bye!" Akiko called to their backs.

"Oi, Shikamaru," Naruto shouted, "watch out for Suki for me."

"You're pretty dense, aren't you?" the slacker said back, "she's the jounin. Suki has to take care of us."

"Oi," Naruto ignored him and called to Suki this time, "hurry up and come back, okay?"

"Yeah…" she smiled lightly and felt a soothing heat in her cheeks.

Seeing Naruto stand there, she felt like she was leaving something behind. She saw him turn to Akiko and whisper something she couldn't quite read on his lips.

"I feel like I want to follow her," is what he said.

He and Akiko watched until the four small figures disappeared down the road. She was gone. But, sometimes missions just suddenly came like that, and it couldn't be helped. Naruto sighed and began to walk back with both hands behind his head.

"Hey, Aki-chan," Naruto said, turning to walk back into the bustling city, "can you do me a favor? It might be fun."

"What is it?"

"I want to give Konohamaru and his friends a little test…"

That's right. He didn't have time to dwell on thoughts of Sakura and Suki. He was going to push those guys hard.

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Sasuke gave a rare smile. He was gave away small smirks and such when Naruto was around, but a genuine smile like the one Sakura was seeing now was a special occasion indeed.

The Uchiha could hardly believe it himself. He had always thought that after his family was murdered that he would never be able to feel this kind of happiness again. Sakura: she made him smile. It was the way she laughed, it was the sound of her voice. It was her precious smile, her graceful blush, and her caring eyes. Everything about her made Sasuke feel so…good. He listened to her talk about whatever she wanted. She had a lot of things to say, and Sasuke was feeling a little bit of pressure to be talkative. However, she didn't seem to mind his short responses, which was good.

Sakura didn't want to make him feel like he needed to have an in depth conversation with her. That wasn't his personality. Instead, he nodded and smiled at the things she was telling him, and Sakura was just glad he was listening. She couldn't expect him to be anything more than he was, and that wasn't really a problem since she loved him that way.

"Sakura…" he took advantage of a momentary pause in conversation.

"Hm?"

"Sorry…I'm letting you do all the talking, aren't I?"

"Don't worry about it, Sasuke-kun."

"Uh…um…" he sounded awkward, "I haven't said much, but I just want you to know that…I-I'm really happy being here with you."

"Me too, Sasuke-kun."

They had stopped walking. Sasuke cautioned a glance over to her; she was gazing at him intently. This moment…what did she want him to do? It was obvious, and no matter how hard he tried to avert his attention, her eyes kept sucking him right back in. His mind was racing. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn't quite sure how to go about it. An unsure shuffle of his feet moved him an inch closer to Sakura. She was inviting him to come closer.

She was waiting, swinging from side to side with her hands behind her back. Her heart skipped a beat when he moved closer to her. He seemed unsure of himself, so she took a step forward as well. She felt faint as he wrapped an arm around her lower back, sealing the distance between them. This was it. It was happening right now.

"Sasuke-kun…"

She breathed helplessly as his hand grazed her cheek, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

Sasuke's heart rushed. Was it nervousness? Was it excitement? His breath grew shallow with every inch he leaned closer to her face. There was no turning back now. Sakura was so close, and he felt her drawing him closer with a hand that had found its way to the back of his neck. She tilted her head for a better position, and she closed her eyes. The space between them was nearly nonexistent. She had come as far as she was going to go. It was Sasuke's job to make the connection.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, traveled the extra inch, and gently pressed his lips onto hers…

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"If you don't come at Aki-chan as a real opponent, then you won't be able to get these bells."

Konohamaru glanced sideways at him team mates. What the hell kind of test was this? Naruto wanted them to take a couple of bells from Akiko, and the one who didn't manage to steal a bell wouldn't be treated to Ichiraku. Although he hadn't been expecting a test, Konohamaru was very confident. Since Naruto was still recovering, Akiko was going to take over for him. He wasn't afraid of this girl. She was barely taller than him.

Konohamaru was set, and Moegi was ready, but Udon didn't seem too enthusiastic. He seemed to be red in the face…

Naruto was about to signal them to start, but Konohamaru was already in action. He tossed a few shuriken at Akiko. They hit their target, and Akiko was blasted off her feet.

"Eh? That's it?" he was surprised that they had won so easily.

"Aki-chan!" Naruto yelled, "Gah! We've got to get her to the hospital!"

A fist hit him on the top of the head like a hammer.

"Geez," Akiko appeared behind him, "I'm right here, Maki-san, so calm down."

"Substitution!" shouted Konohamaru, noticing the log full of the projectiles he had thrown.

"I'll get you this time!" he exclaimed. He nodded to Moegi, and the two of them came at Akiko from both sides.

Their twin flying kicks were blocked easily by the jounin with a lazy motion of her arms. They both landed on their feet and tried another double attack, but Akiko simply jumped back a few feet to safety.

"Udon!" shouted Konohamaru, "what the hell are you doing, just standing there!? If the three of us don't attack together, we'll never get those bells!"

Akiko used her speed to run past her two attackers.

"Yeah, what's the matter, Udon-chan?" she asked.

The small boy's face totally flushed, and he hurried to back away.

"Don't tell me," came Moegi, "he's got a crush on Akiko-nee-san…"

"Eh? A crush?" Akiko looked back over at the boy.

"Yeah…" said Moegi, "he used to have a crush on me, and he'd do weird stuff like that all the time…"

Konohamaru was too fired up for this to bring him down.

"All right! Moegi, it looks like the two of us are getting those bells on our own! Follow my lead!"

He made a seal that Akiko was familiar with.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

There were ten of them; eleven including the original. They all made transformation seals.

"This works on Ebisu-sensei, but I'll have to change it a bit for a girl! Supa Irropoi Harem no jutsu!" (Super Erotic Harem technique)

Eleven naked, muscular men surrounded Akiko. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her face was twisted in the momentary shock.

"D-don't think that an immature technique like that will get to me," she said, casting her eyes downward. Being surrounded by naked men was certainly a new, uncomfortable experience for her.

"Konohamaru!" wailed Naruto, covering his eyes, "don't pull that shit when I'm around!"

"It's your fault!" Akiko shouted at him, "you are the one who gives him these kind of ideas!"

She got rid of the clones as fast as she could, but she couldn't help but feel awkward as she punched them.

Moegi came from behind with shuriken, and she appeared to be hit again.

"No, Aki-chan! Are you bleeding?! Get help!" yelled a frantic Naruto.

He felt another hammer on his head.

"Seriously, Maki-san, I can understand the genin being fooled again, but you…are you sure you're a jounin?"

She turned to the genin and left Naruto to rub his head.

"No wonder these guys are so pathetic! They got trained by a total idiot!"

"Hey!" shouted Konohamaru, "no one talks about me or Naruto-nii-chan like that!"

"Konohamaru, Moegi, make her pay for that!" Naruto commanded them.

Akiko rolled her eyes. For someone who had just been concerned for her, he was now telling them to beat her up.

"For a little runt, you talk a lot," she said to the young genin.

"Don't call me a runt!" he said back, "you'll be bowing down to me one day after I become Hokage!"

All this yelling…she could tell that Naruto had been his tutor.

In spite of their newly found fighting spirit, Moegi and Konohamaru found it very difficult to even get close to their opponent. And when they did manage to get close, she didn't even bother to dodge their attacks because a weird metal skin would show up and protect her from taking damage.

Seeing his partners struggle, Udon had mustered the courage to rush at Akiko. To counter his attack, she smiled and waved at him, and he was kneeling down and making circles in the dirt with his finger.

In the end, they weren't able to capture their prize.

"We…lost…" panted Konohamaru, "does that mean that none of us get to eat Ichiraku?"

"The point of the test was to show me how much you guys have learned. Don't feel so bad; me, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke couldn't get our bells from Kakashi-sensei either. The theme of the test is teamwork, and I saw a lot of that from you guys. Well, except for Udon…he was useless!"

The snot-nosed boy was still glancing upwards at Akiko.

"Anyway, since you all did a good job, I'll take you guys out for some food! So you guys lead the way!"

Their bright eyes sparkled at the thought of eating.

"I'll get mine with shrimp!" exclaimed Moegi.

"I'll get mine with pork!" announced Konohamaru.

"I'll have lots of fishcake with mine!" said Udon.

"Shut up, Udon, you didn't do anything!"

Naruto walked a few paces behind them. Akiko walked beside him.

"That love for ramen…just how much of your personality has passed on to them, Maki-san?"

Naruto smiled.

"It's fun being like an older brother…"

"Yeah, they really idolize you. Konohamaru-chan even uses the same jutsu; and he has the same prankster mentality that has worked so well for you in fights."

"Naruto-nii-chan! Ramen eating contest!" Konohamaru challenged him.

"Are you kidding!? I can eat more than the three of you combined!" Naruto proclaimed proudly.

"Not if Aki-nee-san is on our side!" Moegi said, pleading to Akiko and pulling on her arm.

"Are you sure, Moegi?" asked Konohamaru, "she's so small, she probably doesn't eat at all…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, LITTLE BOY!" Akiko erupted.

"S-s-s-scary!" the genin shouted, "she's just as scary as Sakura-nee-chan!"

"Ummm, you'd better run, Konohamaru," Naruto warned.

"Aieeeee! Moegi! Udon! Nii-chan! Help me!"

She left welts on top of welts on his head.

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They had spent a good deal of the morning and afternoon together, but their date came to an end when a messenger from the council came with another grunt work mission for Sasuke. With no other choice but to accept, he walked Sakura home. They lingered outside her doorway.

"Sasuke-kun, thank you, I had fun!"

"I'm glad…"

They lingered more.

"So I'll see you later then, right?" she asked him.

"Of course."

She turned the handle of the door but didn't open it. It didn't look like Sasuke was going to take the initiative. Didn't he know how to say goodbye to a girl properly. She was going to have to show him, then.

She threw her arms around his neck and embraced him for a kiss.

Sasuke hadn't been expecting it. He was thinking about Naruto. If she tried to kiss him in front of Naruto, he would have to stop her without explaining why.

They parted after a few seconds, and she finally went inside. Today, she had experienced her very first kiss with Sasuke. She had no doubt that today had been the best day in her entire life.

It had been a first for Sasuke as well. Who would have ever thought that he, Sasuke uchiha, would ever be going out on dates and kissing young girls? Certainly not him. He was lost thinking about the feeling of her soft lips…

Until a voice called him from behind. It was a voice that Sasuke would have been better off not hearing for the rest of his life.

"Aww…isn't that sweet. Sasuke-sama, you're quite the ladies man aren't you?"

He almost didn't want to turn around. He hoped to god that he had just imagined that voice just now.

"What's the matter, Sasuke-sama? Didn't you miss me?"

Damn. He turned around to face the voice. Those spectacled eyes were like poison; threatening this whole new life that Sasuke had just found.

"Kabuto," he snarled, "what…the…FUCK…are you doing here!?"


	37. Into the Lion's Den

Hey.

Not much reviews these past few chapters. Guess that's my cue to step it up a bit, no? Sorry again for the longer than usual wait, but as you all know, school and life happen. I just haven't had that much time. Sakura's mom has some lines in this one. I apologize if it seems like I haven't been putting much effort into these last few chapters, and sorry that it's taking me this long to plan out how I'm going to bring everything to a close. I promise that the life in this story will be revitalized soon.

Well anyway, thanks again for reading on through the fast and the slow, the good and the not so good. You guys are great.

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So many thoughts, so many emotions evoked at the sight of this man. Sasuke hated him. He hated looking at him, he hated being in his presence, he hated the smirk on his face, all with an unquenchable passion. He or Naruto should have ended him at that time…and now their mistake had come back.

"What's with that hateful look, Sasuke-kun? Wasn't I like a brother to you?"

His tone of voice seemed different; shaky. His eyes shifted from side to side, as if he expected someone to attack his blind spot at any time. His smirk faded and appeared again. Even the aura he was giving off was completely different. The air of overconfidence and smugness was still there, but felt peculiar.

"You seem different. What happened to you?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Oh, I had a run in with that brother of yours. He tortured me pretty bad in that stupid mangekyou world of his."

"Itachi used Tsukiyomi?" remarked Sasuke, "You shouldn't be alive."

"True, but I guess he didn't think I was much of a threat. Failing to kill me is a mistake that both you Uchiha brothers share."

Kabuto laughed at Sasuke like it was the most hilarious thing he had ever seen.

"What's so funny!?" he demanded.

"That face!" exclaimed Kabuto, "it's almost as if you intend on attacking me!"

Sasuke heard his teeth grinding. He was seething on the inside. There was no way he was going to take Kabuto on. In fact, this former follower of Orochimaru could probably kill him right now.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-sama, I won't kill you. You still have a role to play in the events yet to come."

"What makes you think I'll do anything you want?" hissed Sasuke.

"Be patient. I'll tell you everything once we're all together."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto-kun. I will need to talk to him as well. Would you happen to know where he is?"

It wasn't really a question. Sasuke was being forced to lead him to Naruto. Kabuto returned Sasuke's hateful gaze with a grin. There wasn't really a way out of this situation. Victory or retreat was not possible. He could try to lead him into a trap where other jounin might be able to tell what was going on, but Kabuto would probably make them avoid other ninja.

"Well then," he said, pulling his hood over his head, "shall we find him?"

"I've got a mission to do," Sasuke said gruffly.

"Oh that. Don't worry, a friend of mine already covered for you."

He had contacts inside of Konoha; contacts with enough influence to cover up for Sasuke. That might not be a very good thing.

"Hmph. You've got some confidence, showing yourself to me. Now that I know you're here, don't expect to make it out of this village alive," Sasuke cursed at him and led the way.

-xxx-

In another part of the Leaf Village, three genin ate to their heart's content. The young team talked and laughed noisily, sharing stories of their missions with their two chaperones. The missions were quite simple, common for those who held genin status. Ebisu, though he was a good teacher, was oftentimes more interested in…other things…and Konohamaru had rendered him temporarily unconscious with a plethora of perverted girl on girl jutsu.

Udon and Akiko were the furthest apart. If they had sat next to each other, the boy would have clammed up again. But now, he was laughing and joking with the rest of them, and Akiko sat back and smiled at the three kids swarming Naruto as they all tried to talk to him at the same time. This kind of role suited him well, she thought.

Naruto spoke over them, quieting them down. He began to tell them the story. Akiko remembered it well. It was back when they were all still together: Naruto, Akiko, Suki, Takahiro, Baine, and Sato. They were outnumbered at least five to one, but Naruto had pretty much decimated those odds by making five hundred clones. While the enemies were distracted by shadow clones, the rest of them were able to team up and take out the strongest opponents, after which the rest were manageable one on one.

After dozens of stories and bowls of ramen, their dinner came to a close. Even the old chef and Ayame listened in and laughed, contributing a comment or two every once in a while. Naruto paid for the meal and said, "See you guys tomorrow! Have a nice big bowl waiting for me, okay!?"

The five of them rubbed their bellies, which were not accustomed to being full at this time of day. It was a bit late for lunch, yet a little early for dinner. Ebisu had come around to collect his students, who were already prepared for the training session that he had scheduled. Naruto saw them off as they left for the training grounds, their bodies and voices trailing off with the busy city noise.

"Those guys…looks like they've grown up a bit. It's a little sad, but it's also pretty cool" he said with a smile.

"He's just like you," said Akiko, "always going on about being Hokage. And I'm sure he'll mature into a great person, just like his idol."

Naruto smirked shyly as his hand ran through his hair. Her compliment created a friendly silence. A nice thing like that deserved something nice in return, but he couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't that she didn't have anything worth complimenting, but in this moment, Naruto wasn't sure how to comment back. In desperation to say something, he blurted out the next thing that came to mind.

"Aki-chan…you're really, really tall," he told her.

"Huh!? You're so dumb sometimes…"

She got his message and laughed, pushing him on the shoulder gently. They made their way back, and Akiko asked him about the little moment he had shared with Suki earlier in the day.

Naruto seemed a little hesitant at first, but he told her everything.

"It feels really confusing," he started, "I mean, Suki is special to me, just like all of my friends. But now I'm thinking these things about her."

He told her about his need to be close to Suki, and how he couldn't keep his eyes off of her, no matter how he tried. He told Akiko that everything Suki did made him smile, and that he missed her right now, even though it hadn't even been a day yet. And then, his true concern came out.

"The thing is, I have these kinds of thoughts about another person too…Sakura-chan."

Akiko nodded. He looked like he was in pain, trying to think everything out.

"But, Sasuke-san and Sakura-san…and you support them…" she said, trying to help him sort through his own thoughts.

"I know! And I've tried, believe me, I have! But it's not easy to get over it…"

Akiko's shoulder rose and fell with a sigh.

"Maki-san…you've already decided not to be with Sakura-san. I think the choice is clear. You should go to Suki."

"Yeah right," muttered Naruto, "she'll just laugh at me."

"I doubt Suki would be so impolite. And what if she accepts you?"

"What you I say to her? 'The other girl I like is taken, so you'll have to do?'"

"Do you feel that way?" she asked

"Of course not!"

"Then I'm sure Suki will understand."

Naruto shook his head.

"Well, that's only if she actually accepts me, which I'm probably sure she won't!"

"What makes you so sure?"

"I…just know…" he replied.

"Oh well, that's a great reason!" she exclaimed sarcastically.

Naruto just frowned at her.

"So you're not going to do anything…again…and let another possible relationship slip away from you…again…and then you'll be all lonely…again…and-"

"Okay, I get your point!" he cut in, "but I still don't know what to do."

"I think you know what you want to do, Maki-san, but you're too afraid to do it."

"You're…probably right…" Naruto said as he looked down at his feet.

"What if I told you that she likes you…a lot?"

Naruto's head rose quickly in surprise.

"Does she?"

"It's…a hypothetical question," Akiko replied, hoping that Naruto would take the hint.

"I'd be…happy. If I knew that telling her wouldn't ruin our friendship, then I'd tell her. If that was the case, I would've told Sakura-chan a long time ago."

So that's what it was. He was afraid that his relationship with Suki would be damaged if he told her and she didn't feel the same way.

"You and Suki are pretty good friends right?" she asked.

"You know we are, why would you ask?"

"Nothing can break the bond of your friendship. Even if you tell her and it doesn't work out, will you still think of her as your friend?"

"Of course. She is my friend no matter what," he said definitely.

"And you will always be Suki's friend. So there you have it."

"But how do you know she feels that way. She might-"

It was Akiko's turn to cut in.

"She might what? Not want to be around you anymore? Maybe you should put more faith in her and the friendship that the two of you have, baka."

Naruto's eyes widened and he grew incredibly quiet. She was right. She was absolutely right.

"I'm sorry, Aki-chan. I guess I've been acting pretty stupid lately," he laughed softly.

"Nope. You're stupid all the time, so I'm used to it!" she said, smiling.

"Aki-chan…why are you so short?" he came back at her with a grin.

She immediately turned away from him and crossed her arms, but he sensed a smile on her face.

"Hey," he called after a few minutes of silence, "thanks."

Akiko just nodded. A few more hushed minutes seeped between them as they walked, but another person appeared and broke it.

"Naruto."

"Sasuke? Aren't you supposed to be with Sakura-chan?"

"She had something to do. Listen, Naruto, I need to talk to you...in private," he added, looking at Akiko.

Naruto looked over at her as if asking permission. He didn't want to leave her alone so suddenly.

"You can go, Maki-san. I'll see you back at the house."

She walked away, and Naruto turned to walk with Sasuke.

"What's up!?" he asked his raven-haired friend.

"Sorry, but you're about to be extremely angry," replied Sasuke.

"Huh? Why?"

His eyes followed Sasuke's pointing finger. A hooded man stood just ahead of them. Seeing the two of them approaching, he revealed his face.

Sasuke had been right. Naruto was very angry; very angry indeed.

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A smile. It was a smile for many things: for friends, for kisses, for life. She smiled at nothing. She smiled at everything. A small, feminine, happy smile that had not vanished from her face for a single second ever since Sasuke had seen her home. Her day had been absolutely perfect so far. She had spent the morning with Naruto and the afternoon with Sasuke, the two greatest people that she knew; her best friends, her team mates. She had been happy ever since the two of them came back.

It was a thought that crossed her mind every day, but only because she felt so strongly about it: without those two around, her life would be ruefully and miserably empty. She thought this as she stared out into the empty, cloudless sky. They were like her sunshine. They kept her world bright and warm.

And there were still hours of this day yet to live, and she would be seeing both of them again very soon. Every moment she had ever spent with them was a priceless memory that made her smile. Yes, they occupied much of her thoughts throughout the course of her day, whether she was worrying about Naruto or daydreaming about Sasuke. Sometimes she begins to think that she is being overly obsessive for thinking about them so much, but they were two truly amazing people. Sakura honestly felt this from the bottom of her heart. Again, she seemed to repeat the same process of thought and reminded herself how much they had changed her life. Perhaps she was being a bit repetitive in telling herself this, but she felt it was important to count her blessings every day and give thanks for the partners whom she appreciated so much.

"Sakura!" her mother called from below, "can you run to the store and buy me some ingredients?"

The request from her mother had forced her to turn away from the window, and by chance she caught sight of an old picture. Team seven, the day they became genin. Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and herself. They would have to take a more updated picture so she could frame it and put them right next to each other. Hopefully this time, the two boys wouldn't put on such bitter expressions.

"Sakura! Did you hear me?"

"Yes, mother," she called, leaving her room and making her way down the stairs, "what do you need?"

Her pink haired mother emerged from the kitchen to hand her a shopping list.

"Oh, I'll probably be going over to Naruto's place for dinner or something," she told her before heading to the door.

At her mother's frown, Sakura asked what was wrong.

"Do we have plans to eat with Ino's family again?" Sakura asked.

"No, it's not that," answered her mom, "but you've been going over to that boy's place a lot lately."

"Yeah. It's become sort of a gathering place for all of our friends. We all stop by when we can."

"I'd prefer if you stay here tonight."

It was more of a command than a suggestion.

"Oh? Do you want me to spend more time with you as daughter and mother?" asked Sakura with a smile.

"That would be nice too, but I just don't like you hanging around that Uchiha boy or Uzumaki either."

Sakura met her mother's frown to express her concern.

"What? Why not?"

"That Uchiha boy is no good, and that other one…there's something about him that you don't know."

Sakura's narrowed eyes demanded her mother to explain herself.

"I know Sasuke had such a tragic past, and he left the village because of it. People like that, they rarely ever straighten out, and they have problems for the rest of their lives…"

"Sasuke-kun knows he made a mistake!" Sakura defended him, "that's why he was willing to return to Konoha and accept whatever punishment the council decided for him! He's left all that stuff behind him!"

"Please understand, Sakura, I just don't want you to be crushed when he runs off again," replied her mother.

"You don't know him, mom! He won't leave!" Sakura sounded very definitive, "did you always have a problem with him?"

Her mother sighed.

"Yes. I was extremely worried when you told me you were on a team with the two of them. But it was okay at first since Uchiha showed no interest in you and you didn't like that Uzumaki kid."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She listened as her mother continued.

"But you started being nice to him, and Uchiha started to take notice of you. To be perfectly truthful, I was happy when they both left the village."

At these words, Sakura exploded.

"How can you say that!? The two and a half years that they weren't here…those were the most lonely years of my life!"

"I know, Sakura. But I always hoped that your time away from them would help you move on to bigger and better things. And you did. You started training with Tsunade-sama, and you became a great medical ninja."

"I did that for them, so that I could help them whenever they needed me!"

Silence. Sakura was screaming in her mind and in her heart. Her mom had told her that there was something about Naruto that she didn't know. It was probably the kyuubi.

"What do you have against Naruto, anyway?" she asked.

"Don't get me started," said her mother, rubbing her forehead, "he's just a no good prankster. He never had parents to teach him right from wrong, so he does whatever he wants."

Sakura remembered that she had felt the exact same way about him at one point.

The lecture continued.

"Plus, there is something you don't know about him. I'm forbidden to talk about it; everyone is."

"I know about the kyuubi," Sakura stated bluntly.

"You knew!?" came a horrified voice, "and you still put yourself in danger by being around him! You must know by now what he's capable of!"

Yes. Sakura had seen the fearsome destructive force of the nine tailed fox. It was the most scary thing Sakura had ever seen. But it wasn't the demon that she had been afraid of. She had been afraid of seeing Naruto in such terrible pain. She didn't want to believe that her mother was saying such things about him; that she only saw him as a monster like the other narrow-minded villagers. They didn't know how he felt. They didn't know what kind of person he was. She got so angry when people talked bad about Naruto.

The tears had already come, and Sakura's words were slow and clear.

"This is how you've felt this whole time?"

A simple nod answered her.

"You…know…nothing…about him. Nothing."

She stormed towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'll probably stay the night at a friends, so don't expect me back tonight," she said coldly.

"Wait, please, Sakura! I was only worried about you!"

Sakura stopped in the doorway and turned back to her mom as if she was going to scream something back at her. However, she held her tongue, and only shook her head in disappointment. Then, entire house shook as she slammed the door.

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"Where the hell are you taking us, Kabuto?" Naruto's voice was sharp.

Kabuto mocked him.

"What are you going to do, Naruto-kun? Beat me up? Sure, you've come a long way. You can make shadow clones of toads and disguise them as humans. You probably don't realize just how difficult that is. If we knew how much you would grow, Orochimaru-sama and I might have tried to lure you away from Konoha instead of Sasuke. But that's not my point. The point is, even if the two of you attacked me right now, I would have no problem killing you."

Naruto was about to charge at Kabuto's back, but Sasuke stopped him and pulled him close.

"Naruto, I know it's hard to do what he says, but we should just follow along for now. The more we learn about what he's planning and who's involved, the better prepared we'll be to stop him."

Naruto reluctantly nodded.

"What makes him so confident? I mean, what's stopping us from going straight to Old Tsunade?"

"I don't know," said Sasuke, "that's what concerns me."

They followed Kabuto to a huge building. Naruto had passed it many times, and he always wondered what was inside. Following him into the huge forum, they took notice of many ANBU ninja coming and going.

"What is this? Some sort of ANBU base? Why would he take us here if he's a wanted ninja?"

"Exactly," said Sasuke whispered, "he must know that if any one of these ninja saw him then he'd be captured. Unless of course…"

"Unless what?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke didn't answer. Sometimes, even if you drew him the perfect picture, Naruto still had no idea what was going on. They made their way to the top floor, and into a secluded office. There, behind the desk, sat an old man that looked slightly familiar. A light bulb went off in Naruto's head.

"Ah! I know you! You helped me at the council hearing!"

"Yeah, I remember too. He's a respected elder," said Sasuke.

So this is who Kabuto is working with. Sasuke remembered that after this guy's speech, the rest of the elders had voted to let him stay in the village. So he was a council member with a pretty powerful influence.

"That is correct," the bandaged man said, "I am a member of the council of elders to this village."

Slowly, Naruto began to realize what was going on here. Kabuto moved to stand behind him.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the elder continued, "My name is Danzou. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, Uzumaki Naruto."

His gaze gave Naruto an uneasy feeling.


	38. Wheels in Motion

Hello once again. School has been crazy, and I've been busy playing catch up because I kind of slacked off for the first half of the semester.

I'd like to address the issue of grammar, if I may. I've seen reviews to other stories I've read that completely flame the author and his or her mistakes. And I know that my chapters are far from perfect. There are spelling and grammar stuff in there that totally destroy the flow of the entire paragraph, and it's probably turned a lot of people away from this story. But for all of you who are still here at chapter 38, I wanna say thanks for putting up with it. So to sum it all up: I suck, you guys rule. I'll try harder from now on.

Anyway, I'll let you get to reading. But before I do, let me say one more thing. I think I may have said this at least once or twice in the past. Thank you guys for sticking with me here. Do you know how horrible it would be to work hard writing something and then have people not care to read it? Pretty damn horrible. And I don't mean to advertise myself here but…if you guys would check out the two oneshots I have out right now, it'd be much appreciated. But you don't have to if you don't wanna. I'll still think you guys are awesome. Okay, I'm done. See ya.

P.S. I didn't really have a chance to reply to any reviews last chapter, but thanks!

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For some reason, Naruto felt completely naked. He felt like he was a child again, with hateful eyes tearing through him wherever he turned. There were only four people in the room, but he was getting the feeling that he was surrounded. The icy glares bore down on him and closing in on him slowly. He was finding it hard to breathe. Whoever this old guy was, his gaze was intense; his hatred was furious. Danzou. He said his name is Danzou.

"Welcome to ROOTS headquarters," he said, but not in a very friendly manner.

"ROOTS?" questioned Sasuke

"Yes. ROOTS is a sect of ANBU that are loyal to only me. In recent years, we've grown to make up about half of the black ops division," Danzou explained.

That was more bad news. This guy had half of ANBU under his control. Just how much power did this guy have? Sasuke wondered.

"What do you want from us?" he demanded.

"Straight to the point, are we?" said the elder, "Fine. You two will do whatever I ask, whenever I ask, and without question. Do you understand?"

"No. What makes you think we would agree to that," said Sasuke, looking over at Naruto for support. But the other boy seemed frozen in place, unable to move. What was wrong with him?

Danzou smiled; if you could call it a smile. It was small and twisted, and didn't give any of the emotions one would expect of a smile.

"For you and your demon friend here, ties of friendship are most important to you, yes?"

This seemed to snap Naruto out of his trance. What was this old fool getting at?

"It seems that most of your friends are mutual: the genin you grew up with, your mentors, the two girls from your little Rakugosha group, and of course, Haruno Sakura."

If they hadn't been on the same page before, they were now. Naruto and Sasuke were growing angrier by the second.

"If you touch them…!" shouted Sasuke.

"Don't you dare threaten them!" came Naruto at the same time.

Kabuto, who had been remaining quiet, suddenly laughed at them. But Danzou paid no attention to him. He talked over the laughter as if it wasn't even there.

"I have men shadowing them. Haruno-san has shifts at the hospital from eight to one. It takes her approximately twelve minutes for her to walk from her house to her work. Umino Iruka teaches at the Academy in the morning and afternoon, and often remains there well after the students and teachers leave. Rock Lee often trains by himself at the same spot. Must I go on? I can have any one of them eliminated at any time. All I need to do is give the word. You will do as I say."

"Why us?" asked Sasuke.

"There's no need for me to tell you. You will obey, yes?"

They nodded with stiff necks. Never had such a simple movement of the head been so difficult.

"Good. Then right now, please follow Kabuto into the room across the hall, Uchiha."

Sasuke already knew it was pointless to ask why. Danzou would probably not tell them. Besides that, he had no choice but to comply. He wasn't going to waste his time asking why. But Naruto did.

"Why!? What are you going to do!?" he yelled.

"Well, he'd be useless to us in his condition, so we're just making him more valuable to us. He needs to be at full strength if he hopes to stand a chance against his brother."

Both boys were now at a loss. Itachi? They wanted Sasuke to fight Itachi?

"Don't look so surprised Sasuke-sama," called Kabuto, whose laughter had died out, "You knew he would come here to claim the last bijuu. He's probably standing somewhere just outside the village walls as we speak."

This gave Sasuke even more to think about. They had known Itachi was coming; that he could already be here. But instead of using the might of half the ANBU black ops to counter his movements, they wanted to send Sasuke out to fight him instead. He followed Kabuto through the door.

Naruto watched them leave the room, and he turned to the old man. Danzou's wrinkled smile polluted the air around him. What was stopping Naruto from beating this guy up right now? Nothing. Naruto lunged at the old man.

"My, my," Danzou muttered, "the rumors of you being a complete idiot are true. What do you think will happen to your friends if you lay a single finger on me? And if you think you'll be able to warn your friends, you're wrong. My ninja are watching all of them. If they sense anything out of the ordinary, they won't hesitate to strike. If you warn one person, the others will fall."

The reckless blonde froze. He straightened up and challenged Danzou's gaze with his own.

"I'll tell you this because there is nothing you can do about it anyway," said the elder, "You killed my family on that day almost sixteen years ago. In the end, I plan to take your life."

Nothing else was said, but neither of them withdrew their frigid staring.

Across the hall, Sasuke was standing in the middle of the sealing circle, surrounded by ROOTS ninja while Kabuto wrote kanji all over his back. After Kabuto left the inner circle, the other ninja began to make hand signs. In one unified motion, they pressed their hands around the edges of the circles, and there was a bright flash. Sasuke was left panting heavily on the floor.

"It's done, Sasuke-sama," called Kabuto, "you now have your normal abilities back. And as a sign of good will, I'll give you this, too."

He threw something next to Sasuke, and it landed at his side. It was his katana; the kusanagi that Orochimaru had made for him. Dragging him by the arms, Kabuto slid him across the floor and back to Danzou's office.

"That is all for now, Uchiha. Naruto, I have a task for you to perform tonight."

"What is it?" asked Naruto unwillingly.

"I need you to steal a certain scroll from the Hokage's private library."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that!?"

"You stole the forbidden scroll a few years back, correct? I'm sure you'll think of something. You're valuable to us because you can get close to the Hokage without arising suspicion. If any of my men were caught wandering around the tower, Tsunade would think I'm up to something."

"Fine. Whatever."

"The scroll I need is too big to fit on a shelf. You'll find it leaning against the wall on the far left," Danzou told him.

"Okay. Can we go now?" asked Naruto. He just wanted to get out of this place that made him feel so vulnerable.

"Yes. But I'll be expecting the scroll in my hands by midnight."

Naruto helped the still faint Sasuke to his feet and supported him as they reached for the door.

"You should know," called Naruto to the two men, "that in the end, I'm planning on taking both your lives. That's a promise."

The door closed.

Sasuke felt like all his energy had been drained, but he could feel his chakra flowing through him. He was back to full strength.

"What the hell do we do? Are we going to tell the Old Lady?" Naruto asked him as they exited the building.

"No. We can't. Even if she does know, she wouldn't have any evidence against Danzou other than us; the words of a betrayer and a demon. By the time she does get any incriminating evidence, Danzou will probably have heard that we told Tsunade and he'll kill our friends.

"But she can protect them," Naruto considered.

"Danzou will know if Tsunade is keeping an eye on them. Remember, that old bastard controls half of ANBU. If we make a wrong move, fighting could break out between ninja that are loyal to the Hokage and ROOTS, and we'll have a civil war on our hands. Danzou doesn't want it that way because he knows that the people of this village would never accept a leader who came to power through force."

Sasuke explored all of their options out loud. He pushed away from Naruto slightly and walked on his own, still deep in thought.

"They want me to fight Itachi," he said simply.

"I know. But why doesn't that bastard brother of yours just give up? Akatsuki is done for. There are only two or three of them left, right?"

"But you are the only jinchuuriki left. Why stop when he is so close to his goal?"

"I guess that makes sense. Well, at least you'll finally get your chance to kill that dumb brother of yours."

"He's the least of my worries right now. We have to be careful, Naruto. For Sakura….and everyone else, too."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Naruto desperately.

Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't like it, but for now, we'll just have to do what they say."

"This sucks!" said Naruto, "I swear, I'm going to seriously kick their asses!"

During the remainder of the walk home, Naruto was shouting about kicking Danzou's ass, and Sasuke was trying his best to calm his energetic friend down.

"That old man is going to wish that he died centuries ago!"

"Shut up."

"You're following us, aren't you, you ROOTS bastards! I know you can hear me! I'll beat your ass too!"

"Naruto, shut up."

Eventually, Sasuke gave up trying to quiet him down and just walk several steps behind him, not wanting to show people that he was acquainted with such an idiot. The loud-mouthed boy caused quite a commotion heading back to his house.

"Welcome home," Akiko and Sakura greeted them as they entered.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! What's up?" called Naruto heartily.

She tried to return his spirit.

"Hi," she replied.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked her, noticing she was upset.

Sasuke and Naruto hurried over to her. She looked up at them and saw their faces filled with genuine concern. It made her smile.

"Are you feeling sick?" asked Sasuke, putting his hand to her forehead.

His touch was nice and warm, and she felt it spread through her body.

"Are you hungry?" asked Naruto, offering her some instant ramen.

She gave a light, giggly laugh as she shook her head.

"Well then, are you hurt?" Naruto guessed again.

"If she was hurt, she could just heal herself, stupid," Sasuke pointed out.

"Oh, that's right…"

"I'm fine, really," said Sakura, "but thanks for worrying."

"She had an argument with her mother," Akiko told them.

The two boys sat across from the girls and leaned forward intently, but Akiko didn't give any further details.

"If you don't want to talk about it, its fine," said Sasuke, "we'll be here if you need us."

"Thanks," she replied quietly, "I just don't want to be around her right now."

The boys looked at each other and tried to think of a way to brighten the mood. They were all in need of it. Sasuke noticed that something was missing.

"Where's Suki?" he asked them.

"She got her first mission today," explained Akiko, "she took team ten with her and left this morning."

"Oh. No wonder it's so quiet around here. Usually Suki and Naruto are the loud ones," Sasuke said as he sat back in the couch, enjoying the peaceful quiet.

The mood was still gloomy and quiet due to Sakura's sadness. She hadn't meant to bring everyone down with her.

Across from her on the other couch, Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"You should finish your date with Sakura-chan. That will make her happy again."

"I can't right now. There's too much going on. I need to think about how we're going to get out of this."

"Sakura-chan needs you right now. There are two of us, you know. I may not be as smart as you, but I'm pretty good at coming up with plans. Go on, you still have two hours before you have to go back to prison."

Sasuke couldn't argue with that. Naruto was quick-witted and clever where Sasuke was methodic and analytical. Between the two of them, they might just be able to come up with something.

"Okay," Sasuke finally agreed, "but stop by after you…you know, finish. We need to talk about this more."

"What are you two whispering about? It's rude to leave us girls out of the conversation," scolded Akiko.

The two girls were watching them curiously. Sakura didn't like it when they whispered like that. That usually meant that something important was going on and they didn't want her to worry about it.

Naruto nodded at Sasuke. He stood up.

"Sakura, did you want to go somewhere? Maybe going out will do some good for you."

"Sure!" she sounded excited. "Let's all go!"

Naruto shook his head.

"That's okay. You two can go alone."

"Don't be silly," Sakura replied, "you're always welcome to come with us, Naruto, and Akiko-san is invited too!"

Akiko, considering Naruto's feelings, declined.

"We'll be fine, Sakura-san," she said gently, but in a way that could not be argued. "Will you be spending the night here?"

"If that's okay with you guys…"

"Of course it is, Sakura-chan. Come here whenever you want," Naruto told her, "Now get going!"

After quick goodbyes, the happy couple left the house. Immediately, Naruto turned to Akiko. She could tell by his expression that he wasn't fooling around. Every emotion except seriousness had escaped his face.

"What's wrong, Maki-san?" she automatically asked.

He moved closer to her and spoke very softly.

"Aki-chan, I'm about to go take a shower. In about five minutes, knock on the bathroom door and come inside. We'll talk there."

He said these things incredibly fast, and Akiko could barely understand. Then he walked over to the bathroom, closed to door, and started up the water. Akiko did as she was told and knocked on the door, and went in.

Naruto wasn't in the shower. He was standing next to a shadow clone, which transformed into Akiko as she walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked urgently.

The shadow clone grabbed a brush and walked out of the bathroom, and closed the door.

"This is the only room with no windows," said Naruto.

"Why are you whispering? What's going on, Maki-san?"

He told her everything. Not a single detail was left out. Danzou, Kabuto, Sasuke, Itachi, everything.

"He said that his men were watching us, and they probably have their eyes on this house, so I had to think of a way to tell you without them noticing that anything was wrong. Hopefully to the people watching us, it looked like I went into the shower and you just came in here really quickly to grab a brush. My shadow clone is out there brushing his hair on the couch."

"Wow…" the one word summed up her reaction to the entire situation.

"I know, it sucks. The thing is, we're not sure how long it's going to take Danzou to get whatever it is he's after. If we act too suddenly, he'll know something is wrong, but if we act too slowly, it might already be too late."

"You…thought of all this by yourself?" asked Akiko.

"Yeah. You'll help us right?"

"What the hell kind of stupid question is that?" she scoffed, "of course I will!"

"Okay. My clone is about to come back in here."

The door opened on cue and in walked "Akiko."

"Coming back in here just to return a brush might look a little fishy," it said to them.

"You're right…" said Naruto. He grabbed his towel and handed it to Akiko, his newest idea inspired by Suki.

"Here. Just pretend to steal this. I'll jump in the shower really fast and get wet, then I'll come stomping out and chase you around for my towel, okay?"

Akiko nodded and left. She heard the poof of his shadow clone as she closed the door behind her. Putting on an act, she grinned mischievously and giggled as she stood in the bedroom.

She heard the water stop. A few moments later…

"AKI-CHAN! Where the hell is my towel!?!?!"

As they had planned, he came storming out and chased her around the house for several minutes. From then on, it was just the usual playful nature between them. The chase became quite serious, a matter of pride, and Naruto tried his hardest to catch her. But Akiko was too quick for him. Her agility and small stature allowed her to maneuver around couch and table obstacles smoothly. There was no chance for Naruto. He was dripping water all over the floor, and eventually he lost his footing. His head made an indent in the wall with a loud bang. Laughing but still concerned, she helped him up and handed the towel to him. There was no need. He was already dry. But he took the towel anyway to dry the floor. She called him clumsy, and he grabbed ahold of her ankle as she passed, tripping her in revenge. She landed on her butt with a small "kyah!" Unfortunately, it didn't look like she found his gesture very amusing, though her overly dramatic angry face was too exaggerated to be taken seriously. As punishment, she didn't help him dry the floor, but he caught her laughing at him from the corner of his eye.

Since they had eaten early with Konohamaru, they weren't really all that hungry. So when night came, Naruto decided that it would be better for him to finish his job before Sakura came back. The next hour or so was spent trying to figure out how he was going to get the scroll. There was single key that could open the door to the Hokage's private library, and the Fifth most likely kept it close at all times. It was Akiko who came up with the idea. She had to go with him.

They ran into two ninja on their way up the stairs. They suspected nothing. Naruto was a common sight around here. The library door was down the hall from Tsunade's office, so they had to make sure no one saw them as they crept down the corridor. At last, they came to the door. Akiko was already holding the large block of steel that she used in battle in her hand.

The solid steel brick melted into a half solid, half liquid substance. She let the metal seep into the small opening in the doorknob, and it slowly took the shape of the inside of the keyhole. After that, she turned the metal back into a solid and turned the key. She smiled along with Naruto when she heard it click.

"Cool…" he said, staring at the door.

Akiko smiled proudly.

"Go on," she said, "I'll make sure no one comes this way."

He nodded and went in while she reformed her steel block.

It wasn't that large of a library compared to the huge one in town. Naruto wondered what kinds of books were too secret to be seen by the general public. There must be forbidden jutsu and classified information on all of Konoha's shinobi. The big scroll he needed was easily found, rolled up in the exact place Danzou had said it would be. It was held shut with some kind of seal that Naruto couldn't break. Taking a last glance at all the other books and scrolls, he made his way out.

He saw Akiko down the hall, keeping watch. When she saw him coming towards him, she looked relieved.

"Come on, we've got to get that thing out of here before someone comes," she told him.

Luck was with them that night, because they encountered no one on the way back down.

"We can't both go out at the same time. They could still be watching us. I'll go out first. You should stay here for a bit, then go back to the house. I'll meet you there."

She wasn't given a chance to respond. He was already out in the street, carrying the scroll with him. Akiko did as she was told.

-xxx-

"Here," said Naruto, shoving the stolen scroll into Danzou's chest.

"Well done. You've done a fine job," the man replied.

"Shut up. I don't need praise from you. If that's all, I'm going."

He didn't wait to see Danzou nod his head. Naruto just turned and went straight out.

Damn. They had to stop him, and fast. Whatever was written on that scroll, it had made Danzou pretty happy. That definitely was not a good thing.

Naruto was sure that Sasuke had already been taken back to his cell for the night. That meant Sakura was back at the house with Akiko. She had had a fight with her mother. He remembered how sad she looked. Naruto never had the privilege of knowing his mother. But as a child, he knew that he had always wished for one. He envied the other children whose moms packed their lunches and came to pick them up from school. Hugs. Smiles. Kindness. Love. He used those words to define a mother. Only his imagination could tell him how horrible it must be to argue and not be able to talk to that person. Sakura's house wasn't too far, so he paid her mom a visit.

She looked incredibly surprised when she saw him standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Haruno-san" he said, "I guess we've never really met before. I'm-"

"Uzumaki Naruto," she finished for him, "If you're here for Sakura, she's not here."

"I know. She's staying at my house."

"Well then, why are you here?"

"She looked really depressed. I heard you had an argument."

"Did she?" the woman sounded flustered.

"Yeah. I don't know what you fought about, but Sakura-chan is really sad that she can't talk to you."

She listened to him, half of her body hiding behind the door.

"So please, try to work it out with her so she'll be happy again," he finished.

He waited for a moment to see if she was going to say anything. She didn't, so he said goodnight and was about to be on his way.

"Do you know what we argued about?" she suddenly asked him.

Naruto shook his head.

"It was you. I told her not to hang out with you or Uchiha Sasuke anymore. She got really mad at me. She must think very highly of you."

"Why did you want that?" he asked.

"I was afraid of you. I was afraid you might do something to hurt my daughter. I still am."

"I wouldn't do anything like that," he assured her.

"It's not you I'm afraid of," she said, "I'm scared of that…thing."

Naruto nodded sadly. She didn't like the fact that her daughter was friends with someone who just happened to have a demon sealed inside of him.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked unexpectedly.

"Huh?" he blurted in confusion.

"Sakura yelled at me for judging you without knowing what kind of person you are. Will you give me that chance?"

"Yeah."

She opened the door wider to let him in.

"I have tea if you'd like some," she offered.

Naruto refused, so she only poured for herself. They both sat at the table.

"Doesn't Sakura-chan have a dad, too?" he asked.

"My husband was killed fifteen years ago."

He didn't have to ask. He knew what she was talking about.

"You hate me because this thing inside me killed someone you loved, and you're afraid it will happen again."

She looked at him sympathetically, but did not reject the statement.

But then, he looked straight at her. Never before had she seen eyes like his. Fervor, intensity, and sincerity caused her to shiver with a feeling of breathlessness.

"I promise that I would never hurt Sakura-chan. I would protect her with my life. You have my word."

The woman began to understand the strength of the gaze this boy was giving her. She smiled softly.

"Oh, I see. My daughter must be causing you great difficulty, chasing after that Uchiha boy."

"Maybe a little…" he said. That distinct gaze was lost and his eyes were on the floor.

"Well then, I should be happy that she's got someone like you to look after her. Take care of her, okay?"

"I will."

"Then I'd better not keep you here too long. Sakura is waiting."

He knew that the conversation was over, so he excused himself and left with a small wave and a big smile.

Sakura's mom watched him leave. She knew that what he said was true; he would never hurt Sakura in any way. That was good enough for a mother, even if this boy was what he was.

-xxx-

Naruto smiled all the way back to his house. He couldn't wait to tell Sakura the good news. He hoped that she and her mother would be able to talk with each other now and work it out. He walked in on the two girls laughing at something he had just missed. But he had another stop to make first.

Sasuke was surprised that Naruto had finished so quickly. With nothing to do in his cursed cell, he had been thinking about ROOTS this whole time. Naruto revealed to him how he had let Akiko in on the secret.

"That's good," said Sasuke, "nice job."

"So, did you think of anything?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing that will work," replied Sasuke heavily, "I think we'll need to wait a bit more until we have a better idea of what they're planning. That scroll they sent you to steal, did you see what was on it?"

"No, I couldn't get it open. I think it was sealed with some kind of jutsu."

Sasuke sighed and laid back on the hard prison mattress.

"He's here in the village. I can feel it," he said gravely.

"Itachi?"

"Yeah. Be careful, Naruto. You're the one he's after. And you're not at full strength yet."

The guard came around.

"Five more minutes," he called before walking off again.

"That's all we get?" Naruto was annoyed that the visiting time was so short.

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk again tomorrow. Let's both try to get some sleep," said Sasuke.

"I doubt it," grumbled Naruto.

"So do I."

When the guard came back around, he unlocked the cell and let Naruto out. It was getting late now, and the streets were becoming more and more deserted. On his way home, he tried to sense if anyone was tailing him, but he didn't hear a sound.

He was greeted by Sakura and Akiko when he opened the door to his house. He heard them laughing before he entered.

"What are you two laughing about?"

"Oh, just girl stuff. How did it go?" Akiko asked immediately.

"Good. No problems," he answered.

Sakura looked like she was doing better. Sasuke must have cheered her up a bit.

"I talked to your mom, Sakura-chan."

"What!?" the girl's eyes widened.

"Yeah. She's really nice, and I think she's willing to work things out."

"She actually talked with you?" Sakura didn't think that she would. "What did you say?"

"I told her that I thought it was a shame for a mother and daughter to be fighting because you're family, and that bond is stronger than anything. You must have been really sad."

Her lips curled into a frownish smile.

"You did, huh? Did she tell you why we were mad at each other."

His whole body sank and his eyes studied the ground once more.

"Sakura-chan…sorry. I made you sad. You argued with your mom. And your dad…"

"No!" she cried, "Never once have I blamed you for anything, so please don't apologize."

She moved closer to him and looked deep into his eyes to make sure he understood. Naruto gave a quick nod and headed to his room. It wasn't his bed he sought, though, it was the rooftop and the millions of stars that were waiting in the night sky.

"Sakura-chan…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for…you know…sticking up for me and all."

"Any time."

The breeze on the rooftop was nice, and the twinkling sky never disappointed. He decided not to think so much about Danzou. Instead, he found himself daydreaming about two people in particular. He tried to think about one more than the other, but it just didn't work. And to this, he cursed and laughed at the same time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is it just me, or is this village easier to sneak into every time?"

Kisame laughed at the guard who was now trapped in one of the sharingan's deepest illusions.

His laughter was short lived. In an instant, the two of them were surrounded by ANBU.

"You were saying?" one of them mocked.

An old man came forward.

"It's been a while since I saw your traitorous face, Uchiha Itachi."

"Danzou-san. So you're not dead yet. I can change that," replied the emotionless Itachi.

"Haha!" Danzou chuckled, "you're as cold as ever, just like me. I like that."

"We're not here to chat, and we won't go peacefully. If you're going to attack, then do it."

"Yeah, bring it on. If you've got the guts, I'll spill them for you!" taunted Kisame.

"There will be no fighting tonight, gentlemen," said Danzou, "I'm here to tell you that Uzumaki Naruto is under the protection of ROOTS. My ninja are keeping a close watch over him."

"We'll just kill them," replied Itachi, "anything else you want to tell us?"

"I've come to posses all seven of the other rings that you need. I won't just hand them over, but I'd be willing to make a deal."

"What do you want?"

"I need two members of the council dead, and I need the scroll which Jiraiya keeps within himself," replied Danzou.

"You don't need me for the first part," stated Itachi, "you have many trained assassins here."

"True, and I have much confidence in them. Yet, if we were somehow discovered and linked to the murders, that wouldn't be very good for me, now would it? You can do it just as proficiently and with no risk to my organization."

"Fine. But the other task won't be as simple."

"Well, that's your problem, Uchiha, not mine. If you want the rings, you will get me that scroll."

He handed the two remaining Akatsuki pictures of the elders that he wanted dead.

"Have a good night, gentlemen," he turned, "I hope you don't run into any trouble."

With a motion of his hand, the ANBU shinobi vanished into the shadows, and all that was left was an old man walking down the street with his cane.

"I say we just take the boy and get out of here for now. It's your ring that we need, anyway, not the others."

"This has turned out to be quite interesting," said Itachi, studying the pictures of Konoha's council members, "Let's see where this will take us."

Two dangerous men ventured into the city, becoming one with the shadows cast under the pale moonlight.


	39. Conflict

Yo. Don't really have anything to say today, except for of course what I say every day, which is thank you.

As a side note to Rebellia, I have indeed begun to spin a Roy/Riza story in this rusty old head of mine. It has proven itself to be quite a challenge for me, but I'm hangin in there and the brain is storming like a mofo.

Anyway, back to Naruto. Please enjoy.

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A knock at the door woke him, and when he opened his eyes, he had to close them again immediately. He was staring right into the sun. As his mind cleared, he remembered that he had stayed up on the roof for a long while, and he must have fallen asleep up here. A thick blanket was wrapped tightly around him; Akiko or Sakura must have come up and put it over him. He heard the door open, and he heard the two girls welcome Sasuke into the house. It was already well into mid-morning. Naruto had slept pretty late, so he had woken up later than usual. He heard Sasuke ask for him, and Akiko directed him to the roof. A moment later, the pitch black hair of his friend came into view as he poked his head out the window. Seeing Naruto awake, he jumped up onto the roof and landed on his feet beside him.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked knowingly.

"No. You need to talk to me, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to say something to you and Akiko."

But the Uchiha said nothing further after that. Naruto understood. He wanted to talk to them about Danzou.

"Well, let's have breakfast first," suggested Naruto, getting to his feet.

Sasuke nodded his agreement and they both went inside. Naruto was met with an instant scolding.

"You could catch a cold, sleeping outside like that!" Sakura told him.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" he said brightly.

She gave him a narrow look before returning the greeting.

No one felt like eating in for breakfast, and no one but Naruto felt like eating ramen. It took quite a lot of convincing to get him to eat somewhere else, but there was no standing up to their three against one onslaught, not even for Naruto. He was finally forced to agree, and he had to admit that the fried squid he ordered wasn't half bad.

Together with Sasuke, he tried to signal to Akiko that they needed to find a place to talk in private. She tried to motion to them that she understood, but it didn't look like her message was getting across. They kept on making those ridiculous head gestures toward her the entire time.

After the meal, Sakura ran to get some things so that she could do Naruto's daily exercises with him at home. Giving Sasuke a quick kiss, she went off to the hospital. This was Sasuke's chance.

"I think I'll go to the library later today," he told them, "would you like to come with me, Akiko?"

"Sure, Sasuke-san. Are you looking for a certain book?" she asked.

"Not really. I'm just looking for something interesting to read."

Then they turned to Naruto.

"What are you doing today?" Sasuke asked him.

"I don't know…but I think we should have Neji and Hinata over for dinner tonight."

"That's a wonderful idea, Maki-san!" said Akiko.

"Yeah. I'll try to find them today and invite them over."

Walking back home, they got a feel of what the other one was planning. Sasuke wanted to go to the library to try to find out more about ROOTS. And they now knew that Naruto had something planned with Neji and Hinata; meaning he needed the byakugan.

Once at they got back, Akiko went into cleaning mode and scurried around the house. Five people were sharing this small house, and it was it need of some tidying up. If they were going to have guests tonight, she didn't want the house to be a mess. The boys tried to help her, but they ended up just getting in her way and not doing things the way she liked, so they ended up just sitting down.

"Naruto," Sasuke started thinking, "do you mind…about the kiss?"

Sakura had kissed him in front of Naruto, and he was worried that his friend felt uncomfortable seeing them together like that. The truth was, it was getting easier to kiss her without feeling guilty, and he didn't know if he should be relieved or if he should feel even more guilty for not feeling guilty.

"You don't have to hold back just because of me," Naruto replied.

Sasuke stared at him sadly.

"It's just that, I know what it feels like to want something so badly and know that you'll never be able to have it."

Naruto frowned at him.

"We've had this conversation a thousand times before, Sasuke. The same things are always said."

"I know. I just don't like making it hard on you."

"Well, it can't really be helped, can it? She loves you. She doesn't love me. End of story; conversation over…again."

"Please don't bring it up," Akiko told Sasuke gently. She had been listening in on them. "You're just forcing Maki-san to think about something he doesn't like to think about that makes him sad."

Then their heads turned as they heard the door click shut.

"I'm back…" said Sakura, her eyes greeting the floor.

No one said a word. Had she heard anything? The quiet of her voice, the light blush on her cheeks, and her wandering gaze said it all.

The room froze. Time and space froze. The three of them couldn't even breathe. Sakura just stood in the doorway. Her eyes dared not rest on them, but she saw their expressions. Sasuke was staring wide-eyed at her, and Akiko's mouth hung open. Naruto, however, was looking away from her. The silence was sucking the life out of her. The other three were too shocked to say a word, so she mustered up all the courage she could find. The result was a single word.

"Naruto…"

He flinched when he heard her call him, but he said nothing and refused to even flick his eyes in her direction for a split second.

Akiko and Sasuke had been staring at her, but now they were looking over at him in concern. Both of them leaned in close. She could hear them whispering in their tightly knit huddle. She saw Naruto shake his head furiously, which drew angry looks from Akiko. Sakura tried looking at Sasuke, but he too was avoiding her. It was definitely awkward to stand there while they talked it over amongst themselves.

The thing that she had just heard…she didn't quite know what to think of it. Her head was spinning so fast that she couldn't grasp a hold of a single, organized thought.

"Akiko and I are going to the library," Sasuke said suddenly.

And without delay, they marched right out of the house as fast as they could. Sakura and Naruto couldn't look at each other. They couldn't collect their thoughts or words. They did nothing, and they did it for a very long time.

It was Naruto who finally sighed and forced a laugh.

"I guess this is what I was always afraid would happen. Us not being able to even talk or look at each other or be in the same room without it being really weird…"

His smile eased some of the tension, and she was able to bring herself to sit across from him.

"I didn't want it to be like that and lose a friendship that means more to than anything to me," he finished.

Her mind began to slow. She took a deep breath. It should have been harder for him, but it was her who couldn't bring herself to talk.

"Listen, Sakura-chan, I'm happy for you and Sasuke. You make each other happy. I knew you'd just feel bad about making me feel bad, so I didn't tell you."

It should have been hardest on him, but it was Sakura who found her vision beginning to blur.

"So don't worry about me. You're friendship already means so much, and even though I…feel like this…I'm so happy to see you and Sasuke together."

He nodded his head, satisfied at the words he had chosen to describe his feelings.

"Well, that's it, I guess," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

The first tear slid down Sakura's face. It was always hardest on Naruto. But there he was, shrugging his shoulders and giving her a warm smile. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling on the inside.

He looked unsure of what to do next, so he stood up. But Sakura caught his hand. When he looked down at her questioningly, she dove into him, sobbing and squeezing him as hard as she could.

She couldn't put into words how she was feeling. Naruto. He was her dearest friend in all the world. She didn't even want to think of what would have happened if they had never met. She felt so blessed by just knowing him, and even more-so because she had earned his love. That is the highest compliment that someone can be given.

And she loved him. She really did, as much as one human being could possibly love another, yet not in the way that he wanted. It killed her inside to think about how he must be feeling.

Naruto. He would always be so much more than a regular friend to her, and she desperately wanted him to know that. She couldn't find the words to say it, so she tried to pour all of these feelings into this one embrace.

Her tears were messy, and she cried softly into him.

"I'm sorry," was all she managed to say.

"Me too," he said in reply.

"For what?"

"I made you cry again."

Her heart jolted and she wrapped around him tighter.

"Baka…"

"Sakura-chan," he struggled, "I can't breathe…"

She giggled softly.

"Well, how long can you hold your breath?" she asked.

"I don't know, like two minutes."

"Can you bear with it until then?"

He smiled and brought his chin to rest on her soft, pink hair.

"Yeah, I can."

"Good."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Akiko's dark eyes scanned the pages of the large book. She had agreed to look through all of the historical books while Sasuke read through politics. They had gathered a huge pile of books that they thought might contain some information, and separated them into those two categories. There were only two words they were searching for as they skimmed each book from cover to cover: Danzou and ROOTS. She was on her fifth book already.

"Find anything?" called Sasuke.

"Not much, just that Danzou founded ROOTS shortly after the kyuubi incident."

"It says in this book that when the time came to choose a third Hokage, Danzou stood in opposition to Sandaime. He disagreed with many of Sandaime's beliefs," Sasuke told her.

Listening to him, she threw the book aside and opened the next one. About halfway through the text, she found something interesting.

"Danzou's family was killed in the kyuubi's attack, and he was injured so badly that he could no longer continue his service as a shinobi. It looks like he and a few others tried to convince the council to get rid of Maki-san just a few days after his birth.

"So I guess he doesn't like Naruto very much," he said dryly.

"Looks like they did a lot of hunting for you; considered you a 'dangerous threat to the village.' ROOTS carries out special request missions from the council while regular Anbu ninja take any missions that Tsunade-sama selects for them."

"Special request from the council, huh? So it's likely that Danzou may have some of the elders on his side."

After this disheartening revelation, they didn't find anything else worth mentioning. But knowing that the council may be on Danzou's side was advantageous in knowing the extent of the enemy's strength.

They left the library just after mid-day. To their surprise, Naruto and Sakura making their way up the road towards them.

"You guys find anything interesting?" Naruto asked eargerly.

"A little," replied Sasuke, "I'll tell you about it later. So…did you two talk?"

His two team mates smiled at each other.

"We sure did," said Sakura, "he told me about a whole bunch of stuff…like Suki-san!"

"Oh, did he?" asked Akiko.

"Yeah! You and I need to support him, Akiko-san!"

"I've been trying, but this idiot has ruined every single moment I try to give him!" Akiko laughed.

"Aki-chan…and now Sakura-chan too…" mumbled Naruto.

The two girls walked behind the boys, whispering things that Naruto could only imagine.

"Really!?" said an excited Sakura, "She does!? That's great!"

"You… and Suki?" Sasuke questioned Naruto.

"Yeah."

"And Sakura too?"

"That's right."

"Is that even allowed?" asked Sasuke.

"Who knows," grinned Naruto, "but since one of them is clearly out of the question…"

"Then you'd better not wait this time."

"I know, but…I don't think I can handle it if what happened with Sakura-chan happens with her too."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto loved Sakura, and Sasuke had seen the pain that he was feeling on the inside because he knew that as much as he loved her, she would never feel that way about him. But apparently he also had feelings for Suki, and he was afraid that he would once again find heartache.

Sakura was talking with Akiko, but she had overheard the conversation between the two boys. Naruto had already confided in her his biggest fear in telling Suki. But from what Akiko told her, Suki was in love with Naruto. When Akiko told her, Sakura was overjoyed. Even though she and Naruto had talked everything through, she knew that he was still feeling empty on the inside, and it was mostly her fault. More than anyone, he deserved to experience the happiness of being together with that one special person, and to be loved in return. Sakura was going to make sure that it happened no matter what.

The four of them remained separate in their pair of conversations. But when the subject of lunch was brought up, they became a single unit yet again. Of course, they already knew what Naruto's suggestion would be. None of the others could think of a reason not to eat the most delicious ramen known to all shinobi, so that's where they decided to go. Unfortunately for them, their stomachs would have to remain empty for the time being.

A voice called them from behind.

"There you guys are. We tried your house, Naruto, but you weren't there."

They all turned suddenly.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where have you been?" greeted Naruto heartily.

"You seem to be doing well," noted Kakashi, "how is your recovery coming?

Sakura answered for him.

"It's going great, sensei. I just did an examination and he should be up to strength very soon."

"That's good. Anyway, we came to find you because Tsunade-sama has called for a jounin meeting."

"The Old Lady? What does she want?"

"If we knew, we wouldn't have to go to the meeting to find out now would we?" came Kakashi.

"No, I guess not…"

Sasuke, Naruto, and Akiko started to walk with them, but Sakura didn't follow.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called.

"I'm not a jounin, remember?" she smiled.

"But…you're the Granny's trusted pupil, and we'll probably just tell you what the meeting was about anyway. It's okay for her to come, right, Kakashi-sensei?"

"That's not for us to decide. If Tsunade-sama chooses to tell Sakura later on, then so be it. But she is not a jounin; there is a reason why chuunin are not permitted to attend. And it is your duty as a jounin to keep these matters confidential, Naruto. You must not tell her what happened at the meeting after it is over. Do you understand?"

He nodded and they all glanced back at Sakura before leaving the scene. Sakura sighed and walked away.

-xxx-

It looked like all the other jounin were already there. Most of them Naruto recognized, but some of them he had yet to meet. He saw Akiko wave at Anko. He saw Morino Ibiki in the front row, and he spotted Gai in his conspicuous green jump suit. And Tsunade stood before them all, with Shizune close to her as always. The old white-haired toad sage was up there as well. Sasuke, Akiko, and Naruto followed the older jounin to stand next to Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai.

"You're late again, Kakashi," said Asuma, "that's not a very good trait to pass down onto our young jounin here."

Naruto stood next to Kurenai and grinned.

"What's that smile for, Naruto?" she asked at his boyish expression.

"I'm a jounin. It's just a little weird to be here with people I still consider my teachers, like Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei."

"I can hardly believe it myself," she told him, "You've come so far in such a short time. To be honest, three years ago, when the genin teams were chosen, I hoped that you wouldn't be on my team because I knew you'd be a handful."

"Tch. Please. Don't tell me that bastard Kiba isn't a handful. He challenged me while I was eating!"

"So he told me," she sighed, "If only he were as quiet as Hinata and Shino, it would make my life so much easier. Kiba has a lot of similarities to you, Naruto. He's brash, thick headed, and acts irrationally sometimes."

"That's mean, sensei…"

Before their conversation could continue, Tsunade called for silence. It looked like everyone was here, minus a few who were still out on missions.

"Thank you all for coming," she started.

"You don't have to thank us," called Naruto out of the crowd, "it's not like we had a choice or anything."

He heard Kurenai next to him whisper "thick headed."

He had seen Tsunade mad before, so the look she was giving him wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"I have something to announce. Two of the village elders and members of the council were found dead this morning: Ashigo Ami and Yojizo Kai."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd until Tsunade once again called for silence.

"Needless to say, this is a major concern. I doubt that rival ninja could sneak in here, assassinate them, and then sneak out without being seen, but it is not entirely impossible. Shizune, Jiraiya, and I will investigate the matter further. However, it is just as possible that these murders were committed by a spy here in the village. I trust all of you here, but there may very well be someone in our midst who is serving another village. Until any other information is gathered, keep an eye out for anything suspicious. I've decided to keep the majority of you here in the village for security reasons, but that means that those I have chosen to go on missions must carry a double load for the time being."

She called out the names of the people she wanted to take on missions. Kakashi was one of them. Tsunade knew that he could handle the work.

With that, the meeting was concluded. He said a quick goodbye to Kurenai and Kakashi before running off after Neji. Akiko and Sasuke followed.

"He's matured well," Kurenai said to Kakashi and Asuma.

"He has," said Asuma, "I always wanted to ask you, Kakashi, what kind of training method did you use for him? He seemed pretty hopeless at the Academy."

"It wasn't anything I did," replied Kakashi, "His growth is due to his strength alone; the strength of his character. And don't forget about the blood that flows through his veins and the natural talent he undoubtedly inherited from his father. Haven't I said since the beginning that Naruto was destined for great things? I believe in him more strongly now than I ever have."

-xxx-

"Oi! Neji!"

The Hyuuga turned to see Naruto calling him. He stopped and waited.

"Neji! Come over for dinner tonight!"

"You want me to come over?"

"Are you deaf or something? That's what I said, wasn't it?"

"Why?"

Naruto frowned angrily.

"Because we're friends!"

Neji was still looking skeptical.

"Bring Hinata over too. It'll be fun!"

"If you say so."

He turned and left.

"What are you planning with Neji?" asked Sasuke.

"Nothing," Naruto lied, "I already said we're friends."

Talks of lunch renewed as they wandered back to Naruto's house, but their plans were once again foiled. It was Jiraiya who called Naruto's name and requested that they have a talk. Akiko and Sasuke went on by themselves as Jiraiya and Naruto walked in an opposite direction. The Sannin led him to the training grounds.

"What's this about, Ero-sannin?"

"You've become strong, Naruto, strong enough to look after yourself. I think that your recent victory over Paine has proved it."

He made a combination of hand signs that Naruto had never seen him use before. Something unexpected happened. The sage's mouth opened wide, and a large scroll jumped out. At the very top of the scroll sat a toad, who greeted them with a "yo."

"W-what the hell!?!" gasped Naruto, "What's up with you and Orochimaru and swallowing weird ass things?"

"The Fourth Hokage entrusted this scroll to me. It was his wish that I hand it down to you when you were ready."

"Well, what is it?" the boy asked.

"It's half of the ninjutsu that was used to seal the kyuubi inside of you. The technique that the Fourth used created two seals. There is the one inside of you; the one that can be seen on your abdomen. Since a jutsu of this nature had never been performed before, he wasn't sure how well it would hold. So, he created another one. The first seal weakens as you experience strong emotions of anger and hate. This seal here, since it's not a part of you, does not weaken. As long as this scroll exists, even if your seal fails and the kyuubi takes control, you can always be turned back to your original self."

"Eh?"

"But if this scroll was to be destroyed, and your seal fails, then saving you would no longer be possible."

"Uh…"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"It's very important," he said simply.

Naruto seemed to understand that much, at least.

"You've matured, Naruto, not only in age but in skill. I have nothing else to teach you."

"What are you talking about, Ero-sannin? There's plenty of jutsu you haven't taught me yet!"

"And for good reason. You are not me. You have your own style and your own way of thinking; there's no need to know all the same jutsu that I do. Think of our toad summons. Do you use them in the same way that I do? No. This world doesn't need another me. The time of my generation is almost at an end. I am the past. You are the future. From here on out, you will only grow stronger."

Naruto just stared from Jiraiya to the strange looking scroll.

"This is a milestone, Naruto. You no longer need me to guard this for you. And so, to complete the task that the Fourth had entrusted to me, I hereby pass this down to you."

"Am I…supposed to swallow it?" asked Naruto.

"I'll teach you how. It doesn't hurt or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"It just looks…kinda gross."

"You'll get used to it, kid," Jiraiya laughed.

"I hope so…" Naruto said, eyeing the scroll doubtfully.

-xxx-

Tsunade was standing at the window, thinking. She hadn't really needed to perform an autopsy on the two corpses: the cause of death was clear. The two elders had been slashed right across the neck, and the murderer had left no trace whatsoever. What troubled her was that the two that were killed had been her biggest supporters in the council. Did that have any significance, or was it just coincidence?

Her door opened. There was only one person who never knocked.

"Did you do it, Jiraiya?"

"Yeah. I gave the scroll to Naruto."

She said nothing. If it had been up to her, she would have waited another year at least.

_He is ready_, Jiraiya had told her, _have faith in him. He is strong enough to face the trails ahead._

There would always be shinobi out there with evil intentions and thirst for power. Naruto was fated to fight them for the rest of his life.

"He's being watched."

Jiraiya's statement voided Tsunade's mind of all other thoughts.

"What?"

"When I found him with Sasuke and Akiko, there was a sparrow perched on a rooftop nearby. It followed us all the way to the training grounds, and it stayed there while we talked. I didn't think anything of it at first, but I could sense that it was being controlled by chakra."

"Did you discover the source?" Tsunade asked.

"No. If I had tried to follow it, it would have noticed. For now, it's better that whoever it is watching him doesn't know that we're on to him. Don't worry, I'll keep my eye on Naruto."

"Do you think it's connected with the murders?"

"I can't say, but it would be foolish of us not to consider the possibility."

"I'll leave that matter to you, then," Tsunade told him.

He left, and Tsunade went back to her thinking. She had only seen Sasuke for a few minutes, but something seemed wrong. Her ability as a medical ninja allowed her to sense changes in a person's body, and there was something peculiar with Sasuke. If her theory was correct, then there was going to be a major problem.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In his office on the top floor of the ROOTS building, Danzou smiled.

"Are you sure of this?" he asked his operative.

"Yes, Danzou-sama, I saw the whole thing. Uzumaki Naruto is in possession of the scroll."

"Excellent job."

The man bowed deeply and vanished.

"Our plan is going well," he said out loud.

Behind him, Kabuto smiled.

"Yes. Yes, it is…"

Their plan was going smoothly. But _his_ plan was going even more smoothly.

-xxx-

"Why are we doing what that Danzou guy is telling us? It's only a matter of time before we're discovered, you know. Even though the ninja of this village are stupid, we can't just walk around here forever" said Kisame.

"I'm interested in what Danzou is doing."

Kisame was growing tired of his partner's vague replies.

"I've been meaning to ask you, why couldn't any of my physical attacks work on that Tobi guy? I had to finish him with ninjutsu."

"That wouldn't have worked either if I hadn't been there to weaken him," said Itachi.

"He was an Uchiha. Why can't you do that?"

"He was…unique."

This man was impossible to talk to. But the two of them were Akatsuki now. They would see that their goal was met.

"Worry not," said Itachi, "whatever Danzou is planning, I have a plan too."

"Will I get to play a little?" Kisame asked eagerly.

He looked over at Itachi. Those red eyes were unblinking as they stared off into space.

"Yes."

Two smiles: a small and tilted, mysterious smile, and a wide, maniacal one full of jagged teeth.


	40. Help

Haha, guess what? Finals are now over and I'm happy! Thanks for waiting, reading, reviewing, and all the usual jazz. Later!

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"Well don't just stand there, you guys, come in!"

Neji and Hinata had come to dinner just as Naruto had requested. Both of them looked unsure; social events weren't really their thing. But Akiko and Naruto welcomed them warmly. The two Hyuuga settled in at the table. Everything was already prepared for the meal. Even though Akiko wasn't the best cook, Naruto always knew that she liked doing these sorts of things. She had slaved away in the kitchen for a long time. Naruto had fun helping her, but she scolded him for cutting the vegetables too big and eating the food while it was still being cooked. After that, he just sat on the counter and watched her, laughing at the serious face she would make while stirring. All he was useful for was reaching the ingredients on the top shelf that she wasn't able to get to.

Most of the talking was done by Akiko and Naruto, asking questions like "how was your day," and "been on any cool missions lately?" to which the Hyuuga's provided short, one sentence answers. Hinata because she was nervous due to Naruto's presence, Neji just because he wasn't one to converse much. But they all said the traditional "Itadakimasu" before trying the Akiko's home style soup.

"Did you make this yourself, Akiko-san?" came Hinata's shy voice.

"I helped!" Naruto said proudly.

"He was actually more of a nuisance. The idiot was cutting the vegetables this big!" Akiko held her arms out in an exaggeration of the vegetable size.

Hinata giggled softly, and a crack of a smile broke across Neji's face.

"As expected of Naruto…" he mumbled.

Naruto crossed his arms to sulk at the joking attention he was receiving.

"It's not fair to compare the size of it to you, Aki-chan. Next to you, everything looks huge!"

A knife landed right next to Naruto's bowl. He just looked at it and laughed. It was Akiko's turn to cross her arms.

"Jeez," he sighed and looked over at Hinata, "I should hang out with you more often, Hinata. All the other girls I know are loud and violent. But you're quiet and nice. I like people like you!"

The heir to the Hyuuga clan blushed heavily and could no longer bare the thought of Naruto looking at her so closely. Her eyes slid downwards and she gazed into her own murky, brownish reflection.

It was true that Naruto invited them over because they were friends, but there was another reason as well. He had figured out a way to tell Neji about ROOTS.

"Say, Neji," he said, "I'm pretty interested in how far your Byakugan has progressed."

Neji waited, ready to respond to what Naruto might say next.

"How far can you see with it?"

"Quite a ways," Neji replied.

"What's with that answer? I want to know. Let me see your byakugan in action. What kind of things can you see while you're sitting right here talking with us?"

Neji looked over at him suspiciously. He knew that Naruto had not invited him here just to chat; there was a reason for asking him to come over suddenly. He had also invited Hinata, which gave Neji his first clue that Naruto wanted someone with their bloodline trait. So the Hyuuga decided to play this little game and activated his white eyes on the spot. Naruto wanted to see how far he could see with his byakugan. Was there something that he wanted to show him? It didn't take much searching in order for him to find the answer. There were five people surrounding this house. By the looks of things, they were trying to keep themselves well hidden. If they were watching the house, then they must also have some way of listening in on them. He found it. A small mouse was standing on the rooftop. But it was no ordinary mouse. Neji sensed no pulse or respiration from it at all.

"If you want to see my byakugan in action, the best course of action to take would be to challenge me. Is that what you want?"

"Of course! Everybody thought it was a fluke the last time I beat you! I want to fight you tomorrow, and I want all our friends to be there to see me kick your ass!"

Neji lifted his bowl to his lips and sipped the rest of it down before standing up.

"Fine. I accept. See you tomorrow, then."

Hinata definitely did not want to be left, so she followed Neji.

"Excuse us…" she said softly.

"See you later, Hinata-chan!" waved Akiko.

The two pairs of white eyes looked back at them once more before leaving. Neji didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew that Naruto was counting on him to tell Tsunade about this.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction at Akiko. She had caught on to his little plan halfway through, and she returned a smile for his cleverness. He had successfully informed Neji that there was something weird going on and that there were people watching this house.

"We should invite them over again sometime," she said.

"Yeah."

Glancing at the table at the empty bowls and the sink full of pots, Naruto tried to escape.

"Where do you think you're going, Maki-san? All this stuff has to be cleaned up!" she said, sarcastically enthusiastic.

"You said you didn't need my help in the kitchen, so…"

"Nope. You're going to help me."

He groaned as she pulled his arm towards the sink. At that time, his thoughts turned to Suki. If she were here, she'd be the one to help Akiko, not him. He wished she had been there with them at dinner to laugh and kid around at them, although his head might suffer some punishment as a result. In this sticky situation he was in, he was glad to have people like Sakura, Sasuke, and Akiko at his side to help him deal with it. But he might be able to feel like everything was going to be fine, no matter what, as long as she was there.

Akiko held a rag out to him and smiled sweetly.

"It's good for a man to help around the house sometimes, you know!" she told him.

As he began scrubbing pots, he wished that Suki would hurry up and come back already, but only to do the dishes, of course.

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She had already spent a whole day away from home, and Sakura knew that it was time to face her mother. She had wanted all of them to come along, but Naruto and Akiko insisted that she and Sasuke go alone. Naruto had confessed his feelings for her, and she talked to Sasuke right after that. Both of them felt bad for Naruto, but they knew that they had his blessing. Their team mate had already gone through enough to try to get them back together, so the best way to honor his feelings was to be happy with one another. That had only been a few hours ago.

They stood now at her doorway. He didn't say anything, but he gave her hand a small squeeze of encouragement. She knocked.

Her mother smiled when she saw the two of them standing there hand in hand. She held the door open for them, and they made their way inside.

Sasuke could instantly recognize a difference in this house and Naruto's. There was only one difference: a motherly warmth that spread throughout. It was a sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time, and he realized now how much he had missed such a simple thing. He was certain that Naruto had probably felt it too. When it came down to it, that was the thing that the two of them had been searching for this whole time.

"I heard Naruto came by yesterday," Sakura said.

"Yes. He's a sweet boy. I'm sorry for saying those things about him. I was wrong, and it must have really upset you," said her mother.

"It's okay now. I just wish other people wouldn't judge him so harshly either, just for what they think he is."

"I have to apologize to you too, Sasuke-kun. I said some things about you as well, before I even got the chance to meet you," the older woman bowed to him.

"That's quite okay, Haruno-san. It's only natural for a mother to be protective of her daughter, especially with someone like me, who was seen as a criminal."

"Well then, I hope to get to know you better," she said.

Sakura and Sasuke sat at the table while dinner was made. Mrs. Haruno came at Sasuke with lighthearted questions, and Sasuke gave her quick, polite answers. She gave a laugh.

"You don't need to be so formal, Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun was polite at first too, but after we talked a while he went from calling me Haruno-san to Old Lady."

"Really? He was polite?" Sakura asked, "I don't think I've ever seen him polite, not even to the Hokage; I don't think he's called Tsunade-shishou anything other than 'Granny' or 'Old Lady.'"

"Is that so? But he is very close to Hokage-sama, is he not? I'm glad he refers to me as a friend."

It wasn't like Sasuke to be so informal, but it was true that he was trying too hard to be polite. So he opened up a bit and conversation ran much more smoothly. It was all due to Naruto's influence that he could have such nice conversations with Sakura and her mom. The old him, just when he had become a ninja, probably would have just sat there and said nothing. He wouldn't have thought any of their small jokes were humorous, nor would he have even enjoyed himself. It was amazing what had happened after he had let go after all these years. To be right here, right now…it was nice. Sasuke had never once thought that on his path of revenge. He could appreciate life so much more now.

The meal was great, the company was great. If he didn't have to return to his cell, he really thought he could have stayed there, just the three of them, for a long time. Sakura walked with him, whispering in the dark, smiling under the stars, and ended it with a kiss.

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Kisame could sense someone coming. His hand was already on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike at the unknown threat. Itachi looked like he always did, those unreadable eyes staring off and thinking about something completely unfathomable.

It was so close now that footsteps could be heard. A cloaked man came into sight and stood right in front of them.

"Who are you?" Itachi demanded.

"I'll give you a hint," the man smiled and pulled back his hood, "Yakushi Kabuto."

Kisame grunted in confusion. That wasn't a hint; that was actually telling them who he was. But what the hell was someone like him doing here, and why had he approached him and Itachi?

"What is it?" Itachi didn't sound like he was asking a question.

"There has been a change of plans, gentlemen," explained Kabuto, "Danzou has received word that Jiraiya is no longer in possession of the scroll that he desires. It has been passed down to Naruto-kun."

"So you've been working with him," inferred Itachi."

"Correct. But it was his intention from the beginning to be rid of you. He knew it was a nearly impossible task to take the scroll from Jiraiya, and he knew that there was no way you would attack the Sannin in the middle of the village. A battle like that would bring Anbu running from all directions. Danzou knew you would have to wait until Jiraiya left the village if you had any chance of capturing the scroll, and that would leave the two of you out of our hair until we were able to finish our business here. But now that Naruto-kun has the scroll, we can obtain it at any time we like, the only reason Danzou agreed not to come after you is because I need you to get what I want. Naturally, we haven't trusted each other from the beginning, and Danzou fears the power that you and I can obtain by getting our hands on the kyuubi. He can't kill Naruto-kun yet, so he'll go after you instead. I believe he hopes to kill the infamous Uchiha Itachi and boost his own reputation. I can't let that happen. You are the only one who can seal the last bijuu. Your leader was the only one who knew how to use the jutsu, but you were there at each removal, looking on with that sharingan of yours, weren't you? I need you to seal the kyuubi for me."

"What makes you think I'll just hand it over to you once I seal it?" asked Itachi.

"When you seal the final bijuu into your ring, the others will become active. I'll have seven rings, you guys will have two. Guess who wins?"

Kabuto had to stop his speech short when Kisame's sword suddenly swung at him.

"Then why don't we just kill this guy now and take back our rings, Itachi?" the half shark suggested.

"I doubt he was stupid enough to bring them with him tonight," said Itachi.

"Then why don't we just kill him for the hell of it?"

"Because…I can help you. Danzou's ROOTS will be coming after you soon. There is no way you'll be able to get Naruto-kun. There is a system of several old caves a few hours northwest of the city. I'll bring Naruto-kun to you in 48 hours."

That was the proposal. Itachi knew that if they stayed here any longer, they'd be done for. Once the alarm is raised, leaving escaping Konoha would be difficult. Naruto was under close watch of Danzou's men. They were protecting him because Danzou still had use for him. Killing Kabuto would be useless. Itachi had no choice but to accept the offer and use the next two days to plan out how they were going to take back the rings that he had stolen.

"What is Danzou planning?" asked Itachi, trying to get a picture of the situation.

"He wants to overthrow the Hokage, of course. The two elders that you killed were her biggest supporters on the council. He restored Sasuke-sama to his full strength."

"For what? And why does he still need the brat?" Kisame asked.

"It won't come to that," said Kabuto, "because we will have Naruto-kun before Danzou can use him."

"Hmph," grunted Kisame. "So are we going to do what this bastard says, Itachi?"

"Yes."

"What the hell is up with you lately? You're not one to take orders from anyone."

Itachi once again answered his partner's questions with silence as he headed to the northwest part of the city. Reluctantly, Kisame followed. This wasn't the way he was used to doing things, but he trusted in Itachi's judgment. He knew that he would lead them to ultimate victory.

Kabuto watched them walk off and smiled.

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An unexpected visitor appeared before Sasuke in his cell late at night. It was none other than the Hokage herself. She had sensed that something was wrong with Sasuke, and she wanted to do some further investigation. There were many strange things going on in Konoha: the murders had been inconvenient for her politically, there was someone watching Naruto, and now there was something wrong with Sasuke. Were they all linked? That's what she was here to find out.

He woke up at the sound of the opening and closing of his door, and looked surprised at when he saw the identity of his late night guest.

"How are you, Sasuke?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Are you sure you're not feeling a little under the weather? As a medical ninja, I can sense biological changes in a human body such as heart rate. I sensed something very peculiar in you."

"Is that so? I feel fine, Tsunade-sama," he lied.

Had she figured it out?

"Hmm…no one has ever heard you use sama or any other honorifics before."

"Well, you believed in Naruto's belief in me, and you let me return to the village that I had betrayed. And, you are the Hokage, so why not call you Hokage-sama?"

"I see," she smiled, "that's much different from your friend. He's reckless, and I've saved his life too many times to count, but he still just calls me old."

They were getting off subject, and Sasuke knew she was just testing him.

"You know," her voice grew deathly serious, "no one can hear us in here, and the guards right outside this door can be trusted."

Was it really going to be this easy? He had thought long and hard about how he was going to try and let Tsunade know the situation that he and Naruto were in. But she had come to him. It had worked out so perfectly that Sasuke couldn't even begin to slow down when he started to talk. He didn't think he had ever spoken this long without a break before, but he told her everything he knew. He explained to her how Danzou was using their friends to threaten him and Naruto.

"I was wondering why Danzou acted so generously at your trials," said Tsunade.

Even though she now knew what was going on, there was little she could do to punish Danzou. Her only evidence was what Sasuke had told her, and that wasn't nearly enough, considering his history and Danzou's influence on the remaining elders. And she didn't know what he was planning. Naruto had stolen a certain scroll from the library, and Sasuke had his chakra returned, but they didn't know what purpose these actions had served. She also had Itachi and Kisame to consider, as well as Kabuto. The only thing she could do right now is try to be ready for whatever ROOTS was planning and have Naruto and Sasuke report to her everything that Danzou was making them do. If she made it too obvious that she knew about this, lives would be in danger. She would also need to eliminate the threat of Itachi and Kisame. One thing was for sure: they all wanted Naruto.

Obviously troubled by this new information, she left the cell and headed back to her office. There was much work and planning to be done, and she didn't know how much time she had left before all of these forces -Kabuto, Danzou, Itachi, and Konoha- inevitably clashed.

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"Alright! Mission accomplished! Go team!"

Ino was her usual, peppy self.

"Do you have to shout?" asked Shikamaru.

Suki had a smile on her face. This team worked really well together. Shikamaru was the brains, Chouji was the brawn, and Ino was the…cheerleader. That wasn't entirely true, though. Ino's abilities were quite useful for gathering information and although her healing abilities weren't as impressive as Sakura's, having a medical ninja around helped a lot. The enemy had also been a jounin and three chuunin from the Rain.

Their fighting style was much different than she was used to. She and Shikamaru came up with a detailed plan. When the enemy ninja showed off their techniques, he was able to adapt the plan to utilize the weaknesses of their opponents and the strengths of his team. For the most part, he did the planning and Suki just shot stuff with lightning.

For her first mission as a jounin, it had gone rather smoothly.

"Okay, everyone, are we ready to go?" Suki called.

"Ready!"

"…Yeah…"

"Munch, munch."

"Well then, let's head back."

For almost three years, she hadn't been apart from the others in Rakugosha. The change of scenery was nice, but she was already restless. She couldn't wait to see a certain person and tell him all about her exciting first mission.

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"Please, don't kill me!"

The man begged for his life on his hands and knees. Itachi stood over him, a grim smile on his face.

"Tell your leader that I need to talk with him. And make sure he is alone in his room when you tell him."

"Yes! Right away!"

The man scurried off, thankful that he had survived an encounter with Uchiha Itachi. Kisame laughed at him as he ran. The ninja of this village were nothing but cowards.

Itachi just watched, as always, as the symbol on the back of the man's vest that linked him ROOTS vanished from sight.

"I knew we weren't just going to do whatever that dumbass Kabuto told us to do," grinned Kisame.


	41. Rise and Shine

Hey guys, sorry. You might have figured that updates would come more frequently since its winter break and I have no school. But all serious slackers understand that free time is meant to be wasted being lazy, not doing something productive. That's why it's free time. Anyway, nothing really happened in the story for the last few chapters that would instigate a substantial amount of excitement, but now we're on the home stretch. A few more chapters should do it. Okay well, I'm off to go enjoy some more free time.

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Something very complex was going on. Jiraiya had heard everything from Tsunade last night. Danzou was up to his foul deeds, Itachi was up to no good, and Kabuto's intentions were still unknown. The only thing they knew was that all their sights were set on one person, and they needed to protect him at all costs. Jiraiya and Kakashi volunteered to train with him for the next few days, never letting him leave their sight. That way, no one suspicious would be able to approach him and summon him to the ROOTS building. That was the only thing they could do for now. Tsunade, Shizune, and a handful of other jounin would handle the situation. All Jiraiya had to do was protect Naruto.

It was obvious that his early arrival at the house had been unexpected; a groggy Akiko answered the door. The rest of the house was peacefully silent; a blessing that could only mean that Naruto was either not there or still sleeping. In fact, the village itself was still in the infant stages of the morning. The petite girl, with her long, glossy black hair messily shadowing her face, looked at the old, white haired man with the stupid grin on his face for a few confused moments before moving aside to invite him in.

"Good morning, Akiko-chan!" he said loudly as he entered.

She just nodded. Not wanting to put forth the extra effort to stumble back to the bedroom, she threw herself onto the nearest sofa. She pointed lazily in the direction of Naruto's room before closing her eyes once more. Jiraiya followed her direction and found Naruto dreaming quite soundly; most likely of ramen. What a hopeless ninja this boy was, with his one track mind and hot-headed behavior. Would it really be okay to have a Hokage like him? The Sannin bit his thumb and made his signature hand signs. The reddish-orange colored toad, Gamakichi, sprung onto the sleeping boy's body. Climbing onto the top of his head matted with thick yellow hair, Gamakichi bounced on him repeatedly.

Upon feeling such pressure on his head, Naruto woke with a startled cry. When he saw what was going on, he went into a fit of yelling.

"What the hell is this!?" he tried to snatch the toad out of the air, but the amphibian was much too quick.

"Don't just go jumping on whoever's head you choose! Can't you see I'm sleeping here!? Ero-sannin, what is your problem!? Quit standing there and make that stupid toad go away already!"

"Don't look down on amphibians!" called the toad, still hopping around the room.

"Come here, little runt! I'll squish you with my foot!"

"Catch me if you can, squirt!"

Jiraiya stood in the middle of the room as the two of them clambered around him. He only wanted to wake Naruto up, but it seemed that these two shared more of a relationship than he had thought. Naruto must have summoned him on many occasions.

But all three of them stopped and held their breaths; heads turning slowly towards the door at the raging murderous intent that had just surfaced.

"You're…too…loud…" Akiko said in a demonic whisper.

"Ah…sorry, Aki-chan. Sorry…I'm really sorry…" Naruto automatically bowed and wailed his apology.

Akiko winced at his loud apologies.

Naruto swallowed hard. He honestly did not believe that any man could stand his ground against this evil gaze on her face at this very moment. Gamakichi was so scared that he dismissed himself.

"Uhhh…" Jiraiya laughed nervously at the situation, "we're leaving now, so please excuse my noisy intrusion."

"You're going out?" Akiko asked. The anger in her expression and voice was replaced by curiosity.

"Yeah, we're training today," the sage told her.

"Really? It's the first time I heard of it," said Naruto.

"Sorry again for waking you," Jiraiya apologized again.

"Oh…it's nothing. I wasn't that mad," she showed them an innocent smile.

Naruto half laughed and grunted.

"Not mad? I thought I was staring at death…"

Fearing any retaliation that Akiko might dish out, Jiraiya took Naruto's arm and hoisted him out the window before he said anything else. They heard him crash land onto the street below.

"If you've got time, stop by Tsunade's today. I think she's got something to tell you. After that, you're welcome to come and join us out at the training grounds."

He jumped down, and Akiko heard Naruto yelling at him.

"What the hell did you throw me for, Ero-Sannin!?"

Angry shouts from his neighbors followed. Akiko shook her head at his foolishness. How she had survived these past three years following the judgment of this type of guy was a downright miracle; although it made his leadership and the success of their group that much more amazing. Those were the young girl's thoughts before collapsing back onto the bed and instantly falling asleep.

-xxx-

"So what's this training all of a sudden. I thought you said you had nothing else to teach me."

Naruto had calmed down a bit and was now questioning Jiraiya on the disturbance of his ramen-filled dream.

"It's true, I have nothing new to teach you, but I can help hone the skills you already have."

"Do we have to be up this early?" he complained.

"Yeah. We're going to Tsunade's first to get the ok to do some serious training. From there on, it'll be all business. I've arranged a training partner for you."

"Really? Who?"

"Kurenai-san. She is known for her genjutsu. Seeing as how it's not exactly your strong point, she'll be working very closely with you." Jiraiya replied. Of course, Sasuke was the ideal training partner in this area, but they couldn't risk him being seen using high level jutsu that he shouldn't be able to use at this point.

"Ugh," grunted Naruto. He didn't particularly enjoy genjutsu.

"I'm sure you know this by now, but you've got to be ready to face all types of fighting styles at any given time. Long range, short range, genjutsu, bloodline traits: every new enemy you meet will come at you with unfamiliar ninjutsu. You must be prepared for anything. Analyzing and predicting enemy moves is the key to victory. That's what makes Sasuke such a dangerous guy. But you have plenty of experience dealing his extremely well rounded types like him. So many strengths, not many weaknesses, sharingan that can copy any jutsu, very analytical and very cunning…"

"Hey, you don't have to praise him so much." sighed Naruto, "I can match that guy punch for punch."

"Indeed," grinned Jiraiya, "in the heat of battle, the things I've seen you accomplish is nothing short of amazing. But that doesn't mean that you're invincible kid, so wipe that conceited smile off your face."

"I can't wait. Becoming stronger means that I'll be able to protect everyone else. No one will have to sacrifice themselves for me anymore…"

Jiraiya nodded and stared at the two black strings that hung around Naruto's neck.

"Well then, as the warm up for today's training, we'll sprint to the tower. If you lose, you won't get lunch."

Summoning incredible speed, Jiraiya pulled ahead. Motivated by the unthinkable threat, Naruto chased after him across the rooftops.

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Outside the sturdy walls that encompassed the Leaf, two figures draped in black waited patiently for the messenger to come. Danzou had agreed to meet them here. Itachi had made it clear to Kisame that he was to keep silent and let the Uchiha do all the talking. The swordsman was very much an evil version of Naruto: loud-mouthed, quick to rush in and showing no regard for procedure. And of course, there was the immense chakra capacity that they each held. But even though Kisame was a part of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, Itachi knew that Naruto and Sasuke were in a class above his partner. Such growth in such a short time, and in such young shinobi. Itachi had only seen two other people of the previous generation that fit into such a category: himself and the boy's father. Before that, it was probably only the three Sannin that were considered true geniuses at that young of an age. If it came down to Naruto and Sasuke against Itachi and Kisame, neither side had a clear advantage.

Motion in the trees to their left let them know the messenger had come. No words were spoken, but the ROOTS ninja prepared a jutsu with hand signs. The man's body twisted awkwardly, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. When he finally spoke, it was with the voice of Danzou.

"Itachi…what is it?"

"I think we can negotiate a deal," he replied.

"Oh?" the corpse-like body spurted.

"Kabuto has already taken measures against you. He came to us and offered to kidnap Naruto-kun from under your nose and deliver him to us."

"That's to be expected," came Danzuo's voice, "I knew from the start he would betray me, and I, him."

"We can remove him from the equation. In less than two days, we're supposed to meet him at a secret location. We can kill him and have his head sent straight to you."

"I think I can handle a single man, Uchiha. I don't need your help."

Itachi spoke calmly and coldly, just as he always did

"Danzou. How long do you think it will be before your scheming is discovered by Tsunade? This little plan of yours wasn't supposed to take this long, was it? You knew that eventually, the Hokage would catch on to you. But Kabuto prolonged the procedure, and certain unforeseen events forced delays in this operation. Now Tsunade and Jiraiya have caught on to your scent. Don't try to act like everything is going smoothly when in fact your plan is on the verge of falling apart. We can help you."

"And what will your help cost me?"

Itachi's twisted smile emerged.

"We'll allow you to use Naruto-kun in whatever way you wish until the Hokage's seat is yours. But after it's done, you will give him to us."

Danzou gave a pause before speaking again.

"It seems that many criminals are interested in the demon boy and these rings Kabuto keeps talking about. The two of you and Kabuto are in this for power and your own self interests. I'm doing this for the good of Konoha. I'm not a fool Itachi. Eventually, you'll stick a knife in my back as well. I will rely on the strength of ROOTS to pull through, and I'll be rid of you, Kabuto, Tsunade, the fox, and claim the rings as my own. How about that?"

"Foolish."

A single kunai in the forehead and the messenger was dead. Kisame grinned at the sight of blood.

"A minor drawback. While Danzou, Kabuto, and Tsunade are busy worrying about each other, we'll go in and claim the Naruto-kun for ourselves."

All they had to do now was watch and wait for the precise moment to attack Naruto. With everything winding down, it was going to happen soon.

-xxx-

Danzou's vision went black, and he came back to his senses in the security of his office.

Itachi had been right. He had taken too long to get everything into position, and he knew Tsunade at least suspected him of something. Time was winding down. Kabuto and Itachi were after the boy, whom he needed for his plan. Danzou couldn't let them take him. Tsunade was after him. If he got caught, it was all over. He had to take action right away. Everything was on the line, and something drastic was in order.

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Neji bowed to the Hokage before stating his business so early in the morning. He had come to tell Tsunade about what Naruto had showed him the night before. The ninja guarding Naruto's house were definitely keeping tabs on him. What surprised Neji was Tsunade's reaction.

"I already know," she told him. "Naruto still doesn't know that that Sasuke told me everything yesterday. It looks like he found a way to get word to me though. Clever as ever, that boy."

"You know about it? So what's going on, Tsunade-sama?"

She filled him in on the general information of the situation. Itachi, Kabuto, Danzou. Neji himself, along with all of Naruto's friends, were being followed and were in danger.

"For now, don't be too cautious. If Danzou notices us and finds out we know about him, nothing good will come of it."

They heard two thumps on the other side of her door, the second one coming two seconds after the first.

"You're still slow, Naruto."

It was Jiraiya.

"That's not fair! You ran ahead so suddenly, and I couldn't catch up!" the huffing voice complained.

"That settles it. No lunch for you. Me and Kurenai-san will eat ramen in front of you."

The door opened. The Sannin stood proud and tall while Naruto sobbed behind him.

"Please excuse us, Neji. I have a scheduled appointment with Naruto," Tsunade dismissed him.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Naruto didn't notice Neji's nod towards him. He was too busy sitting in the corner, pouting.

Tsunade called for him and laid him right across the table. The examination only took a few minutes, during which she talked to him.

"Naruto, I already know about Danzou and everything else. I'm working on everything right now, so don't worry. For the next few days, you'll be training with Jiraiya and Kakashi and you'll be under their constant supervision."

"Constant supervision?" Naruto fired back, "I'm not a kid anymore, Old Lady! It's not like I need protection."

"Believe me, I know that," she explained, "But you're being targeted here. We need to know where you are at all times, at least until we settle this."

"If someone comes, I'll just beat them up. I'm in good condition, right, Old Lady?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "Yes, you are."

Jiraiya spoke up to support Tsunade.

"I know you don't like people protecting you and treating you like a kid, but it's still training, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Naruto conceded.

"Good. Then let's get going."

Naruto gave a wave as he went to wait in the hall.

"You sure are a mystery, Tsunade," laughed Jiraiya.

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes you act like you don't worry about Naruto at all, like when you sent him to save Gaara. But sometimes you're too overprotective."

"Tch. You too, Jiraiya. You decided it was time to give him his father's scroll, but you were the first to volunteer to train and protect him."

"I guess you're right. I am his godfather, after all. I think it's about time we tell him about his parents. He's known nothing about them for his entire life."

"Yeah," Tsunade turned her chair to face the city.

"Then, I'll be off. Leave Naruto to me and get that bastard Danzou. If not, Naruto might try to take things into his own hands."

"I know."

Tsunade reached into her drawer once Jiraiya left. She could really use some sake to clear her mind right now.

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Kurenai was already waiting at the training grounds.

"Late huh, Naruto? I told Kakashi to set a good example, but no…"

"Ok," called Jiraiya, taking control, "Let's get this started. Naruto, she's going to attack you now."

"What!? Right off the bat?" barked Naruto.

"That's right. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah! I'm not ready yet!"

"An enemy won't wait until you're ready!"

It wasn't any use. Kurenai was already coming at him.

Naruto felt something hard against his back: the stump of a tree. Somehow, his arms and legs hald melded with the wood, and he couldn't move. Genjutsu. How he hated genjutsu. So much for his hopes that Kurenai would be nice and go easy on him. But he didn't have time to think about anything right now, he had to concentrate on dispelling the illusion.

Concentrate…

He had to hurry. She was almost here. Under such circumstances, it was very difficult to focus. There was a woman with a knife on her way to stab him. Desperately, he closed his eyes and shut down his senses. At the last moment, he was able to free himself and duck under her knife.

After the dodge, he hurriedly looked up to find Kurenai's position. She was nowhere to be seen. Vines came up from the ground and entangled his limbs. It was another genjutsu. He couldn't move. Kurenai came up from underground right in front of him.

"Looks like I got you, Naruto," she said.

But at that moment a small explosion went off, and both of them were caught in the blast. Kurenai was forced backwards, the explosion damaging the right side of her abdomen. The cloth had been blown away, exposing the blackened wound. Naruto had also taken damage from the blast; evident from a similar wound on his chest. It had done the trick though, the gentustu had been released.

"Uh…sorry, Kurenai-sensei," he said, eyeing her wound, "That's a bit too much for just training. I didn't mean to-"

"I'm fine, Naruto," she told him, "if we don't treat this like a real situation, then you won't learn anything. Planting a paper bomb on yourself…it's reckless, but smart. Better than staying in the genjutsu, that's for sure."

"Do I have to keep on fighting?" Naruto called to Jiraiya, "I don't want to have to beat Kurenai-sensei up. She's nice."

"Genjutsu is your weakness, Naruto," Jiraiya called back, "Genjutsu users like Itachi will use one illusion after the other. That is the purpose of this exercise. Itachi, although skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu, prefers to use mainly genjutsu. You know this. And in the past, he's played you for a fool, hasn't he? Lucky for you, you've had comrades around to dispel the genjutsu for you. But next time around, it might just be you and him. You need to be ready. Kurenai-san is also a genjutsu type. She uses a continuous chain of genjutsu to confuse enemies. That's why she is here. And as for feeling bad for beating up your sensei, who is nice: get those ridiculous thoughts out of your head. She is perfectly capable to take care of herself. She is not a child, Naruto, she's a jounin. She'll be perfectly fine."

Naruto looked across to Kurenai. She gave a nod and took up an offensive stance.

"Here I come," she called.

Jiraiya himself had told Naruto that his best defense against genjutsu was his shadow clones. The twenty or so clones caused hesitation in Kurenai's steps. Genjutsu was no good unless she knew where the real one was. Testing his sensei's taijutsu, Naruto sent one of his clones to attack her. It traded blows with her for a few moments before disappearing due to a kick to the chest. Her hand to hand combat was just about on par with his. He only needed two clones to keep her occupied. The two of them went in, but Kurenai jumped back, throwing exploding tags in her trail and all around her to discourage any pursuers. The disposable kage bunshins ran in to set them off, allowing the remaining few to get through and attack. But before they could engage her, they noticed feathers falling all around them. Kurenai created just enough time for her to cast a genjutsu over a wider area. Naruto was caught in another illusion. He didn't know how it happened, but his body was immobilized yet again.

Because genjutsu didn't work on shadow clones, the clones continued to fight. They surrounded her. Using the basic clone jutsu, she bought herself just enough time to make hand signs.

"Katon! Yakekoge Tsuchi no jutsu!" (Fire Element: Scorch Earth Technique)

The ground around them was lighted ablaze, and the clones were gone in an instant. Naruto was still inside the genjutsu. It took a while for him to dispel it, and when he did, Kurenai was already standing there with a knife to his throat.

His eyes drooped.

"I…lost…"

Jiraiya stepped forward.

"Naturally, genjutsu users like Kurenai-san and Itachi are your worst enemies, Naruto. Like I said, they will use their illusions relentlessly. If you break one, they'll go right into another one. To defend against genjutsu that affect a large area, you need to make a much larger amount of clones to hold off Kureani-san long enough to keep her busy while you dispel it, or just dispel it faster. Since the first option uses up tons of chakra, the ideal option would be for you to clear your mind and release the technique faster."

"I worked a lot with Takahiro for genjutsu defense, and it helped me improve a lot. But I guess I'm still not at a high enough level," he said, depressed at his loss.

He was beginning to see his own limitations. All those times he had faced Itachi, he hadn't been alone. Others had been there to break him out of Itachi's illusions. Right now, if he were to ever meet Itachi or any other advanced genjutsu user one on one, he would probably lose.

Kurenai had already put her knife away and stepped back. She was breathing pretty heavily. She scowled at Jiraiya's comments and praised Naruto.

"Don't act like he didn't do a good job. Do you know how many enemy ninja have fared much worse against me than you, Naruto? And look, I'm already very low on chakra."

It was Naruto who defended Jiraiya.

"That doesn't remove the fact that had this been a true fight, I would have died. That's why I need more practice." He bowed to Kurenai. "Thank you for helping me train today, sensei."

"N-no problem, Naruto. Once you develop a good genjutsu defense, you'll become a very difficult man to beat."

"Kurenai-san, you can take a break. Right now, we're going to work with Naruto on some techniques. Any tips you have to offer would be very valuable to him. After that, we'll break at lunchtime and I'll have you face him again," instructed Jiraiya.

"Are you ready, Naruto. It's going to be a long day," said Kurenai.

He had been rudely woken up by Jiraiya, scared to death by Akiko, treated like a child by Tsunade, and he had been beaten in a match against Kurenai. This just wasn't his day, and the sun was yet to fully rise. To say that it was going to be a long day was the understatement of the century.

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Knock. Knock. Knock.

Akiko had only gotten in about an hour of sleep before she woke up again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"I'm coming already. Jeez!" she called, annoyed.

Still half asleep, she walked slowly out of the room and towards the door, her limp, heavy steps thudding against the floor.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"If you knock again, I swear I'll kill you," she mumbled to herself.

But once she opened to door, all she saw was black.

Three men stood over her. Apparently the leader of the group, one of the men gave orders to the others.

"Tell Danzou-sama that we have the girl."


	42. Growth

Hey guys. Sorry again for taking a little longer than expected. I apologize especially to one person in particular who I told I would be updating much sooner. Please don't burn me.

Anyway, I'm not sure whether I said it or not last time, so I'll say it twice today. Thank you, thank you, for reading.

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Naruto's training had drawn some unexpected spectators. Kiba was the first to show up, and he complained that his sensei should be training him, someone who was in her genin team, rather than helping Naruto get even more unbeatable. Hinata happened by, and she sat on the grass and watched. Sakura and Sasuke, who had stopped had heard from Tsunade that Naruto had been training out here, came to see how their team mate was doing. As usual, the mere presence of Sasuke fired Naruto up.

Sakura, strong in recognizing genjutsu and dispelling it, also actively participated in Naruto's training with Kurenai and Jiraiya. Kiba was still mumbling complaints to Hinata, who was too busy watching Naruto to pay attention. Akamaru sprawled out on the grass. All of them had come to witness Naruto's trails in overcoming his biggest weakness; partly because they had nothing better to do, but mostly because they wanted to see if Naruto was capable of doing it.

Sakura and Jiraiya ran him through many simulations, and with each exercise, Naruto's degree of success varied. Sasuke watched him intently from the sidelines, silently encouraging his friend. Things never came easily for Naruto. When he was younger, he always tried his best, trudging forward in a lonely life, only to fail so many times. Failure, as Sasuke knew very well, was often a devastating part of life. Many people are broken by failure. They give up. They begin to think that it's useless to even try. Naruto stayed true to his goal where others, even grown men, would have been conquered by their failures. He had to work extremely hard to get to this point. Everything that Orochimaru taught Sasuke was far from child's play, but he could usually master things very quickly. He was always called a genius; a child prodigy. But even this so-called child prodigy had to be rescued by this failure.

Sasuke had decided shortly after Naruto saved him that just as his friend had tried so hard to get him back, so would he try his hardest to see that Naruto would one day become the Hokage. Sasuke owed him at least that much.

Heh…Naruto as Hokage. At the thought, Sasuke found himself smiling.

When Naruto caught Sasuke with a smile on his face, he thought that his rival was laughing because he had failed the latest task Jiraiya had given him. He was going to slap that damn smile off his face by the end of this day.

As scheduled, they took a break at lunchtime, and the two adults treated everyone to Ichiraku…everyone except Naruto. His stomach growled like an earthquake, and he closed his eyes, not having the strength to watch everyone else enjoy the meal. He covered his ears to block out Kiba's moans of "Ooh, this is sooo good!" At last he found solace with Akamaru, who was lying peacefully on the grass across from the ramen stand.

"Your owner is a jerk," Naruto told the large dog.

Akamaru growled at him menacingly.

Jiraiya finished quickly, but told everyone else to take their time. This was the perfect opportunity to speak with Naruto. The Sannin had already deemed him ready to hold on to the scroll. The time had come for him to learn who he was.

"Let's take a walk, Naruto," he called.

Jiraiya was wearing that wise, knowing smile, so Naruto didn't question him. He obediently shadowed Jiraiya out of sight from the others. The Sannin found the perfect spot: a small bench directly in view of the faces on the mountain. The two of them sat side by side.

"Nice view, eh Naruto?"

"Yeah…"

Jiraiya reached into his pockets and pulled out a book. He handed it to his pupil.

"Read some of this. It shouldn't take too long."

"An ero-book? I don't wanna read that thing!" exclaimed Naruto.

The Sannin just laughed.

"You can read, right? The first few chapters should do."

At the insult, Naruto snatched the book out of Jiraiya's hands. He opened it to the first page. There it was. Fifth sentence, seventh word: his name. Interested, Naruto continued to read. The older man sat quietly as the boy read over the first chapters. Several minutes and four chapters later, Naruto looked to Jiraiya.

"This character…is he me?"

"It does seem that he was modeled after you, doesn't it? But actually, I wrote that book before you were born. I thought of the name wile eating ramen."

Before he was born? Was it just a coincidence then that the character in the book had the same name and same personality? And why the hell would this old geezer ask him to read this book all of a sudden. He looked to Jiraiya for an explanation.

The older man saw the questioning look in his student's eyes, so he went on.

"It was the first novel I ever wrote. I was pretty insecure about it at first, so before I went to publish it, I showed it to a very good friend of mine; an old student. Do you know who that was, Naruto?"

"How the hell should I know, Ero-sannin?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya just chuckled and moved on.

"Well anyway, he really liked the hero of the story. He liked how the Naruto in the book never gave up. He believed that this character had everything a person needed in order to become a great shinobi. So that man and his wife, who was pregnant at the time, decided to name their unborn baby boy after the main character in hopes that he would one day become strong as both a ninja and a man; a person that put his heart into everything he did and was determined and unwavering in his goals."

The pieces were falling together slowly, and Naruto's mind was going numb. He just stared back at Jiraiya, who was grinning at such a helpless expression.

"I always thought it was fitting that you grew into the kind of man that your parents had hoped."

His parents. Naruto had always guessed that Jiraiya and Tsunade and Kakashi had known who his parents were. He used to think about them a lot as a child, wondering why he never had anyone waiting for him to come back home. It was confusing and painful as a child to ask himself each day why every other kid had parents to help them, feed them, and love them while he sat in an empty house. Eventually he grew to think that it didn't matter. He would never know them, and he had come to accept it.

Shimmering eyes; the true, innermost feelings of a young man with a sad past were creeping to the surface. He didn't exactly know how to feel. These were his parents. He had gotten through life without them, but somehow, finally knowing who they were was exciting him. Whatever this mixture of feelings was that was boiling inside of him right now, it most certainly was strong.

Jiraiya smiled broader at Naruto. He was about to drop the bomb.

"Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina, a shinobi originally from another village. I remember her well…she was so thrilled to be having you; ready to love and devote herself completely to her child. I remember the way she would smile every time she looked down at her belly and thought about the life growing there. She loved you before you were even born, kid."

Before he was even born, he was loved. Naruto had been wrong. Back then, he thought that no one had cared for him, but that was untrue. He had been blessed with a loving mother before he came into this world. Just hearing that made him happy.

"Was she…pretty? Was she a nice person?" he asked.

A childish question; one Jiraiya would forgive, given the circumstances.

"Ah, yes. Very pretty, though a bit of a tomboy. There should be a picture of her somewhere in her records. Kushina one of the kindest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Too kind, perhaps, for her own good."

Naruto smiled at the description, trying to picture her himself.

"As for your dad," Jiraiya smirked, "you've seen him before."

"What!? I-I have?"

The Sannin pointed at the faces on the mountain, his finger resting on his old apprentice.

"He's the one right next to Tsunade, kid."

A gleam flickered in Naruto's widened eyes. He felt a sense of wonder. He felt a sense of pride. He felt a sense of closure. Jiraiya wouldn't lie to him about something like this; that would be much too cruel. This was the truth, and the truth had made Naruto speechless.

The Fourth Hokage, the one who was considered the greatest leader the Leaf Village had ever known: his dad. This sudden rush of feelings was overwhelming. It was almost too amazing to believe.

Jiraiya smiled. He decided not to ruin this revelation that Naruto had just discovered. Naruto had every right to be as excited, confused, or happy as he wanted to be. He'd let the boy have this moment to himself, for it was his to think and feel as he wanted. No doubt the kid had been waiting for this for a long time. Naruto just stared at his spiky-haired father with a look that could only be described as admiration.

"Am…am I anything like him?" he asked.

"When it comes to that blonde hair, blue eyes, and goofy-looking face, you're exactly like him. He had a much more carefree attitude, though. When it comes to personality, I'd say you lean towards your mom's side."

"Is that so…" Naruto was all smiles now, gazing up at his father's huge face on the mountain. "So he's been watching me this whole time…"

"Heh. Well now that you finally know; if you ever have any questions, you can come to me or Tsunade or Kakashi."

All these years…Naruto now knew who his parents were. He never met them. He never knew them. They died when he was but an infant. He had gotten through his bitter childhood without their care. But just having the satisfaction of knowing who they were and what kind of people they were was enriching. He wanted to know all about them.

"Well, that's for another time. Right now the others are probably waiting for us," Jiriaya said, lifting himself from the bench.

"Hey, Ero-sanin, why tell me now, all of a sudden?"

"It just felt like you were ready to know."

"How the hell did you decide that?"

"I'm a wise hermit."

"Eeeeeh!?!? That's a cheap answer, Ero-sannin!"

Under the shadow of his father, Naruto and Jiraiya started their walk back to Ichiraku, which was, coincidentally, the Fourth's favorite place to eat as well.

-xxx-

Everyone was wondering what those two guys were taking so long to talk about. But just when things were about to get restless, the two of them casually strolled into view. Both seemed to be in high sprits.

Jiraiya waved down the crowd.

"Are you ready, Kurenai-san?"

"Are you ready, Naruto?" she called backed.

"I'm ready."

The group made their way back to the training grounds. Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, and Kiba sat off to the side, giving the two participants ample room for their fight. Jiraiya signaled for them to begin.

Kurenai went to her hand signs immediately. Naruto stood ready. He'd test the waters first. He threw a kunai in her direction just to see how she reacted. To his surprise, Kurenai did not move. His knife hit her chest, but it turned out to only be a substitution. The world swirled around him. The very air around him felt heavy, and it was impossible to breathe such air. It forced him to his knees. This early in the match, he was already caught in her technique. He couldn't bring his hands together to make a seal, concentrate his chakra, and break the illusion. But there was another option; pain could usually help break genjutsu. Illusion techniques controlled the senses. Any pain felt as a result of any illusions was only real because the mind thinks that it is real. Physical pain makes the body and mind aware of a separate sensation, one that was actually happening, enabling it to react. Sasuke had told him once that he broke out of Orochimaru's genjutsu by stabbing himself in the leg, and Shikamaru broke his finger to get out of genjutsu before. However, the stronger the genjutsu was, the more pain was required to cancel it. He tried biting his lip. Nothing. It wasn't enough. Was he going to have to break his finger? He really didn't want to, but right now it was the only option. Using his thumb, he bent his middle finger backwards. He saw it snap out of place. He felt a small jolt, and he felt the illusion stagger, but it didn't disappear. It didn't work.

For the single moment he had felt the genjutsu slipping though, he was able to discover a strange feeling. The strength of this technique proved it: Kurenai had come in physical contact with him and was manipulating him directly. Before he fell into her trap, she hadn't been anywhere around him. Not behind, not above, not anywhere. That only left one option. She had distracted him using the substitution jutsu and had used an earth technique to get underneath him. Kurenai must be touching one of his feet. If he reduced the flow of chakra to his feet, he might just be able to break this. And he'd better hurry too, because he was running out of breath.

It started to work immediately. The pain from his finger did the rest. Once he was out, he aimed a rasengan directly below him. Chunks of earth exploded in all directions, but skillful movement from Kurenai allowed her to avoid the hit, if barely.

"He broke it!" exclaimed Hinata on the sidelines.

"True, but the match isn't over yet," said Sasuke. "Naruto might already be mentally strained. That leaves him open to more genjutsu. You should know that Kurenai's style is to wear down the opponent with multiple techniques."

Naruto knew he had been careless. Of course, since Naruto knew she was a genjutsu user, he knew how Kurenai would attack. Genjutsu wasn't half as effective if the person knew when it was coming. With the substitution, she had caught Naruto off guard. Damn. He was going to have to be more careful.

As expected, she didn't give him time to rest. Naruto had barely recovered before she was on him, landing a kick right to his face that sent him flying. When his body landed, Kurenai had already cast another genjutsu. A huge plant rose from the ground and tangled him up in its vines. The huge bud of the plant moved in front of him, and the flower opened up to reveal Kurenai. This time, drawing blood from his own lip caused enough of a disturbance to allow him to cancel the jutsu. Naruto knew he had to take action right away before she cast another technique.

In a single moment, the training grounds were crowded with shadow clones. As far as Kurenai and the other spectators could tell, there was easily over five hundred of them. With Kurenai's taijutsu ability relatively close to Naruto's, Kurenai knew that she would be overwhelmed fairly easily. With this number of duplications, it would be hard for anyone to fight back. She was able to run around for a little while, reducing the number of clones with various jutsu and tricks, but in the end she was caught.

"Tch. I should've just made that many clones from the beginning! I could've avoided having to break my finger. It hurts!"

"You can't always win a fight just by making a ridiculous number of clones, Naruto," Jiraiya told him.

Kurenai gave Naruto a pat on the shoulder.

"Cut the kid a break. To be able to summon and disperse the amount of chakra it takes to make five hundred clones as fast as he did was quite impressive."

She turned to Kiba.

"You'll have to train much harder if you ever want to catch up to him."

The rest of the spectators stepped forward to offer Naruto their praise, and Sakura fixed up his broken finger.

But it was Sasuke's eyes that he sought. He wanted to see his rival's face after seeing him beat an experienced genjutsu user. As expected, the Uchiha wore a small grin.

"Hmph. Don't think you can take me on now just because of that," he grunted.

"I'll do more than take you on! I'll destroy you!" Naruto declared.

It looked like Sasuke just might step up to the challenge, but Sakura scolded them both before anything got out of hand.

But all their chatter was brought to a halt.

"Hey! Did I say you're training was over?" called Jiraiya. "I told you, didn't I? We're training all day!"

The boy groaned and walked back over to his trainers.

-xxx-

When Akiko's eyes opened, she found herself in a pitch black room. Remembering what had happened earlier, her first reaction was to struggle. Her wrists were bound together behind her back, and her ankles were tied as well. Her body had been tightly secured against the back of the chair she was in, and her lips had been sealed with tape.

"Looks like you're awake," a voice sounded from behind her.

In the darkness, she could see nothing; not even the fist that hit her right in the face. She knew why she was here. They didn't want to ask her questions, they probably wouldn't even say a word to her. They were just going to bruise her up a bit so that she would look presentable for Naruto. Then when he came to take her back, they would use her as leverage to get what they wanted from him. In her thoughts, she apologized to him. Her carelessness had cost her, and it just made things worse for Naruto. As the next blow to her face connected, she hoped that he wouldn't do anything too reckless trying to save her.

-xxx-

After the fight, the small group had dispersed. Hinata and Kiba had gone off to find Shino to get in some training of their own, and Sakura and Sasuke went off to hang out at the house for a while. They figured Akiko was there by herself and that she might want some company. Later on, they'd probably all get together with Naruto since he was probably already halfway dead due to starvation. Sakura felt bad about eating without him, but there really wasn't anything she could have done about it. When they got to the house, however, it wasn't Akiko that they found: it was a message left for Naruto.

"You'd better go and tell Tsunade-sama," Sasuke told the baffled Sakura.

The serious look on Sasuke's face told her that this wasn't the time to ask questions, so she nodded and took off without a word. She was sure that someone would explain to her what was going on later.

Sasuke read the message one last time before turning back to the training grounds. Naruto wasn't going to like this.


	43. Standoff

Hey guys, the next chapter is here.

I only realized a few days ago that this story has been up for more than a year now (Yeah, I was a bit slow….) That's pretty awesome, and it's pretty much all because of everyone who still reads this stuff after all this time. So thanks for that, even though I'm about a month too late…

Anyway, see you guys later.

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Even if everyone told him to calm down, it was hard to do. Akiko was now in the hands of the enemy. He knew that she was just being used as bait to lure him to ROOTS. But if it meant saving Akiko, who was so much more than just a friend, he would gladly rush in there and rescue her. But Jiraiya had suggested otherwise. The old hermit had advised him to report to Tsunade right away. So they sped off to see her straight from the training grounds.

Kurenai was also in the loop, so she went to gather the other jounin. For all they knew, this could be Danzou's final move before his grand scheme was initiated, so Konoha had to be ready, just in case.

Sakura had already gone to tell Tsunade about what happened, so she was probably expecting them. Up the stairs they sprinted, and the door stood no chance against their urgency. Together, the three of them burst into the office. The Hokage and her two students didn't look very startled at the ruckus that was being caused. The pig, however, buried its face in Shizune's sleeve.

"Hey Old Lady!" Naruto shouted, "What are we going to do?"

"First, you're going to stop shouting" she told him.

"We'll have to approach cautiously," said Jiraiya.

"Screw that!" Naruto was shouting again. "We've got to save Aki-chan! We don't know what they're doing to her over there!"

Sakura tried to calm him down.

"Please, settle down, Naruto. We already know that they set this trap for you, knowing that you would rush in without a second thought. You'll be doing exactly what they want."

She had just heard the brief explanation from Tsunade as to what was going on. What the hell was with those two boys and excluding her all the time. She could have helped them, somehow.

"So what should I do, leave her there for the time being? You know there's no way I'd do that, Sakura-chan!"

"I know how you feel, but you have to trust us right now, okay? We'll definitely get Akiko-san back. I promise."

Naruto's mood softened at her words. He smiled at her.

"I appreciate you saying that. But when I heard what happened, I didn't want to waste another second. Sorry. I hope you can forgive me for being unreasonable, Sakura-chan."

"What…?"

Sakura's suspicions were confirmed when Tsunade's elbow hit Naruto right in the chest. The shadow clone hit the back wall and was gone.

"Idiot…he already went off by himself…" sighed Tsunade.

Sasuke spoke up timidly, scratching his head nervously.

"Well, he's not exactly alone…sorry, Sakura."

Sasuke's shadow clone also disappeared.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya angrily.

"You…let yourself be fooled by those brats! And you call yourself a Sannin!"

"It seems that they're pretty skilled…" Jiraiya responded by laughing sheepishly.

"Jeez. Well, I guess there's no helping it. We've got to take action, too."

The boys moving in on their own caused a lot of trouble for Tsunade. She already had jounin and Anbu patrolling the streets for Itachi, Kisame, and Kabuto. Konoha was on high alert. Because Danzou had sent his men to keep watch over Naruto's friends, she had kept all of their squad leaders -Gai, Kurenai, and Ebisu- around for protection. She had notified Iruka not to go anywhere alone. Even so, she didn't know what Naruto and Sasuke were planning to do, and she didn't know how Danzou was going to respond to their actions.

As the Hokage discussed things with Jiraiya and barked orders to Shizune, Sakura stood by herself. They were really idiots, those team mates of hers. They never asked for her help. Why the hell did they think she trained for, these past years? It was so that they would always be there to face problems together; the three of them. But it was always those two who ran off by themselves. What did they think comrades and friends were for? Did they not see her as a comrade? Did they not believe in her abilities as a shinobi? Seriously…those two were really, really stupid.

During all the commotion, she slipped out of the room.

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Two young jounin entered the ROOTS building. The ninja of ROOTS gave them nasty looks as they walked through the main lobby, but the two didn't pay attention. Only one thing was on their minds. With their looks of utmost seriousness, they climbed their way up the staircase.

"Looks like we were found out," said Sasuke, gaining the memories of his clone. "It didn't look like they were happy when they found out you were a clone."

"Sakura-chan is not going to be happy with you," Naruto remarked.

"Same goes for you."

"Yeah, but she expects that from me. I'm the hot-blooded idiot. She expects you to talk sense into me; you're the calm, cool guy. I'm actually a little surprised myself."

"Well, I figured you'd pull a stunt like this. Like you said, you're an idiot. I knew that there's no talking sense into you in a situation where a friend is in danger, and we'd probably just end up arguing and fighting about it. So instead of doing something stupid like that, I came to watch your back. If you think about it, coming here with you was the best logical option."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it."

As they got closer to the top floor, their minds raced frantically to form a plan. Danzou was probably going to ask for something; something he thought that Naruto would never agree to without incentive. This place was crawling with ROOTS shinobi. Even in this incredibly bad situation, Naruto wasn't going to just leave Akiko here. It was against Sasuke's better judgment to be here, but he just couldn't let Naruto do this by himself.

They reached Danzou's room. Naruto opened the door. This was it.

The old man greeted them.

"Hello, Naruto, Sasuke. I must say, that was some trick you pulled to come here. The men that were supposed to follow you were completely fooled, as was Jiraiya. We didn't know you were going to be here until we saw you come in a few moments ago."

"Where is Aki-chan?"

"Ah, the girl. You don't need to worry. She is in good hands."

"Let me see her."

Danzou laughed.

"Well, well. You're quite demanding, boy. I'll tell you what. Hand over _that scroll_, and I'll gladly return her to you."

That scroll. Naruto knew what he meant. If that's what Danzou was after, he must be planning something with the kyuubi. This was dangerous. Something as important as that couldn't just be handed over leisurely, just hand but he wanted to get Akiko out of there. He didn't know what things they were doing to her, but he did know that she wasn't safe here.

"Let us see Akiko first. We just need to make sure she is okay," said Sasuke. He didn't know about this scroll they were talking about, but they just needed more time before Danzou lost his patience and started to make threats.

With a snap of his finger, a ninja materialized in the room. He had Akiko tied to a chair. Naruto automatically grit his teeth at the sight. Her face was very swollen, bruised, and bloody.

Akiko sighed. So he had come to save her without thinking, after all. She saw the anger in his eyes the moment he saw how beat up she was, but there was a hint of concern that was directed at her. It hadn't been that bad. She had been in more pain than this before; they had only roughed her up a little bit. But they might do something a little more extreme in front of Naruto in order to make him panic. If they went too far, the kyuubi might come out. She threw angry eyes at Sasuke. He should have tried to stop Naruto from coming here.

Naruto's hands started to shake, and Akiko looked on, worried.

"Danzou…you…do you have any idea who that person is?"

"If you give me what I need, this girl won't have to suffer anymore. You brought this upon yourself, demon! I told you not to get the Hokage involved!" Danzou laughed and shot a nod in his suboordinate's direction.

Akiko's captor slapped her again, and this time drew his knife and held it to her throat.

Naruto was standing on the line between this world and that cursed world of crimson red.

"I…was going to sit back and let Granny Tsunade take care of things like everyone told me to…" his words rang with anger. "but now that you've gone this far, don't think I'll ever forgive you. You won't make it out of this alive."

"Oh? Who are you to be making threats, demon boy?"

Another nod from Danzou. The knife pierced the skin of her neck, drawing a slow trickle of blood.

"You are a fool, thinking you could resist me. Did I not warn you that your friends' lives were in danger? Not just this girl, but all of your shinobi comrades! Did you think you were so clever that I wouldn't find out? Give me the scroll, and they won't have to suffer for your foolishness."

It was getting down to the wire. If Naruto didn't give Danzou the scroll, something bad was going to happen. Sasuke had to think fast. There was only one enemy ninja in the room. If they could take him out, then Akiko would be safe for the time being. They would have to kill Danzou. He was too much of a threat to Konoha, even if his murder would cause trouble for Sasuke and Naruto from the council. What would happen after that was the real problem. They would have to fight their way out of this place that had at least a few dozen Anbu level ninja walking around. With naruto's anger getting the best of him, it was Sasuke who was going to have to think of a way out of this.

"Hesitating again, Naruto?" called Danzou, "Let me show you what's going to happen every time you just stand there and ignore my orders."

The silent ninja took his knife and carved it into Akiko's back.

"If you refuse me, he will cut up our pretty little friend here; he will make a mural of her blood. She is counting on you to save her, boy. Just give me the scroll."

Sasuke could already feel the foul chakra seeping from every pore in Naruto's body. He had to do something before Naruto either lost control or gave in and handed Danzou the scroll. This was exactly why he had come here against his better judgment. He couldn't afford to be hesitant here. If Sasuke was going to do something to gain control of this situation, then he was going to have to do it now. He sprung forward.

A knock at the door stopped his motion.

"Danzou-sama!" a voice called.

"I told everyone not to disturb me! I'm busy!" shouted Danzou.

"This is an emergency, Danzou-sama! It's Uchiha Itachi!"

The name froze the thoughts of everyone in the room.

"What!? What about Itachi? Enter!"

Following his superior's order, the man stepped into the room. Sasuke immediately felt something strange about the new arrival. Unable to shake the suspicious feeling, he activated his sharingan. He was right to have suspected something.

This man was…not alive. He wasn't real. Sasuke was on his guard now. He had seen this jutsu before. This man had been killed and was now being controlled by the chakra of his killer. And that wasn't it. If the person controlling this corpse chose to do so, he could use this puppet as a medium to transport himself to this spot.

"Well, spit it out!" said Danzou, "What news do you have on Itachi?"

The man smiled.

"About Uchiha Itachi…"

Something weird was happening. The man's appearance was changing. It was like watching an insect crawl out of a cocoon. Skin has being shed; flesh was tearing apart. And in the end, standing in the middle of the room, was the Uchiha himself.

"He's coming," Itachi finished with a smirk.

"Itachi!!" Sasuke. Naruto. Danzou. All three of them expressed their shock.

Sasuke's older brother looked around the room slowly. His eyes rested on Akiko and the ninja standing next to her.

"I see. It looks like you're doing something interesting, Danzou. And Kabuto is here too."

The masked ROOTS ninja stood up. He removed the wolf-style mask. His glasses reflected in the light.

"Tch. Blowing a fellow villain's cover…that's mean, Itachi-san."

"Kabuto!!" Their three voices sounded in a surprised harmony.

"Well, it looks like we're all here. That makes things interesting," laughed Kabuto.

Naurto's eyes wandered from Itachi, to Kabuto, to Danzou, and then back to Akiko. He looked over at Sasuke. His eyes, too, glanced over everyone present, but he stared at Itachi for just a second longer. Right now, he couldn't afford to lose track of what had to be done: saving Akiko and getting Naruto out of here.

This whole thing had just gone from bad to worse.

But the reckless idiot didn't seem worried at all. In fact, he seemed quite ready to fight. Though he gained control of his emotions for the time being, his face still cast a shadow of anger. But in the excitement, an almost malicious grin appeared on Naruto's face.

"Since he did those things to Aki-chan, Kabuto is going to get his ass beat first. Who's next in line after that?"

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Sakura was sure that those two were in trouble. What did they think they could achieve by doing something like this. She had been counting on Sasuke to keep Naruto in check, but apparently Naruto's bad influence was having a stronger effect than Sasuke's good influence.

She hadn't stayed to hear what Tsunade was doing, but it looked like some Anbu squads were already taking action. It looked like the villagers had already begun to notice that something was up. When they caught sight of the jounin running around, they got curious and started to whisper. Sakura didn't blame them. It was only a little while ago that the mass jailbreak occurred and dangerous criminals were running in the street.

The ROOTS building came into view. It was quite isolated from the rest of the buildings around it, and its sleek, black exterior gave it an even more ominous look. Naruto and Sasuke were in there. But suddenly she stopped.

She laughed at herself.

The two of them had gone off by themselves with no plan, and that's why she was mad at them. But here she was, rushing in to help them with no plan of her on and no real idea of what the situation was like in there. At the moment she had decided to go and help them, it seemed like a no-brainer decision. Help her friends; that was all there was to it. On first instinct, that was the only thing that mattered. She supposed that this was how Naruto must've felt as well. But walking right into ROOTS and trying to find them was a rather stupid thing to try to attempt by herself. If in the end those two guys had to come and save her again…

An alarm erupted from inside the building. Yup. Those two were definitely in trouble. It was too late to second guess herself. She couldn't turn back now, not when they needed her. They had never hesitated to rush in and help her in the past. Thinking about this, she almost smacked herself for even thinking about backing out.

Even though it went against all logic, she started walking again; pulled along by the string of her heart and not her mind.

Without a plan, without knowing what would happen and what was waiting for her, she strode forward. An idiot, just like them; the three of them together. Right now, she was damn proud to be one.

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Tsunade wanted to be out there herself, but as Hokage, she had to stay in her office and direct everyone else from there. She did feel a little more at ease, however, because Jiraiya was out there, too.

Many messengers were coming and leaving her office by the minute, keeping her updated on any developments and relaying her orders to the units that had been deployed. But her next visitors were ones she hadn't been expecting.

"Back from your mission? It was a success, then?" she asked them.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, everything wet smoothly. But…is there something going on in the village?" the girl asked, "Something seemed a little strange."

Tsunade looked at each of them individually, thinking of how they could be of use. Yes…this team would be extremely helpful, especially since they knew about Naruto. Well, all of them but one. She asked that one to leave.

"All of you," she said to the remaining three, "I'll tell you what's been going on."

"Perhaps you should have a seat, Suki. This concerns you most of all."


	44. Things Are about to Get Serious

Damn. Well it seems that I'm quite late. School's been back in seesion for a good five weeks, and I'm also working now so free time is hard to come by. Plus, I just got the new Devil May Cry game and I've been spending some time on that :) Anyway, no need to worry because I've already pretty much got the next chapter mapped out so it shouldn't take that long to type.

Anyway, thanks for being patient. We got some major climactic fights coming up in the chapters to come, and I'm thinking there might be about 3-5 chapters left. So be on the lookout. Seeya guys.

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So here they were: Kabuto, Danzou, Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke. Each had come here with their goals in mind, but the appearance of all of them at the same place and time was unexpected. Because of the presence of the unwanted company, each of them had to think quickly as to how they would proceed.

Danzou was at a major disadvantage here. He was the only one among them that couldn't fight. He was helpless in a room full of monstrously skilled shinobi. In this position, he could do nothing. But he could change everything in a second. All he needed to do was push the button under his desk, and every ROOTS ninja in the building would come running. As things looked now, with the interference of Kabuto and Itachi, he wasn't going to be able to get his hands on the scroll. He needed to keep Akiko as his prisoner if he was to have any chance at obtaining it.

Sasuke was looking for the quickest escape route out of this place. Itachi was blocking the door, Kabuto was blocking Akiko, and Danzou's men were patrolling the hallways. If they were lucky, ROOTS would be distracted by Itachi and Kabuto so that he and Naruto wouldn't have to take them all on by themselves. But that was if they were lucky…

Kabuto had come here to take Danzou out of the equation. With ROOTS in disorder, it would have been easy for him to take the boy. Itachi's entrance on the scene made him worry. What did the Uchiha come here to accomplish? Had he had the same motive to kill Danzou as well, or had he come to take the boy? And where had that Kisame run off to?

Itachi just gave his cold stare to everyone in the room. It seemed that he was waiting to see everyone else's intentions before making his own move.

Among them, only one person wasn't much of a thinker. It was him who broke the suspension of their motionless standoff, acting on instinct alone. All he knew was that he wanted to save Akiko, and the enemy who was closest to her was the four-eyed, white-haired bastard.

It happened in an instant. The room that had been so still and quiet a moment ago came to life. All five men moved at once. Danzou sounded the building alarm, while Naruto and Sasuke went after Kabuto. Ocrochimaru's devoted servant avoided contact with them. Having everyone here at the same time was a setback, but not one that he couldn't overcome. Right now it looked like Naruto's main focus was Danzou and Akiko. Naruto and Sasuke were busy untying Akiko and didn't seem too concerned about chasing him now that he was out of the way. Danzou's main focus was Naruto. He was going to try to keep the girl in his possession. If Kabuto fled the scene and watched from afar, he might be able to pick his spots and strike at the most opportune moment. It was Itachi that he had to worry about. Indeed, when his spectacled eyes found Itachi amongst the chaos, the Uchiha had those dangerous eyes set on him. He threw a kunai, and given the short distance and semi-crowded room, Kabuto could only manage to dodge it enough so that it grazed his arm, drawing blood. Knowing a fatal genjutsu could be but a blink away, Kabuto hurriedly used an escape jutsu to flee the scene immediately. Itachi, intent on chasing him, vanished as well.

Naruto was still having trouble untying Akiko. Some kind of chakra layer was preventing him from cutting the rope with his knife, and untying every single complicated knot was taking time. Sasuke was busy keeping an eye out for enemies.

The first ROOTS shinobi arrived at the scene; a squad of four. Danzou immediately yelled to them.

"Take the girl!"

The four rushed at Sasuke, but a chidori nagashi temporarily kept them at bay. If they stayed here, they would only be overwhelmed.

"Naruto, there's no time! We've got to take her and run!"

Frustrated at the hassle, Naruto held the entire chair over his head and fled with Sasuke into the hallway. The four ninja, already recovering from the attack, gave chase as soon as they were able.

Danzou had no time to think about anything else. He was sure Tsunade already knew about his scheming, and had already taken some measures against him to help Naruto and Sasuke. Now that he had been exposed, he couldn't afford to wait any longer; it was all or nothing, right now. If only this hadn't happened, he may have been able to get his hands on what he needed, but what's done is done. Danzou still had the advantage here: the council was on his side and Tsunade was still unsure of his exact intentions, which made it difficult for her to maneuver. It was time. He was going to have to prepare his organization for a takeover.

-xxx-

Luck wasn't on their side today. Itachi and Kabuto were already gone. They would be providing no distractions that Sasuke and Naruto could use to their advantage. They dared not go back to the first floor and exit out the front door; it was much too risky. Instead, they were going to have to find an alternate route.

The free ride wasn't exactly thrilling for Akiko, and she was swerving all over the place as Naruto rushed down a flight of stairs and colliding into walls and low ceilings. She knew it wasn't on purpose, but even so, she was kind of pissed that he wasn't being more careful with her. But she supposed it could be forgiven, once he got her safety.

Sasuke was leading way, trying to find any means of making it outside. Naruto had already sent out his transformed clones at decoys, but they didn't know how long it would keep the enemy off their backs. Naruto unexpectedly took the lead and tossed Akiko over to Sasuke.

"They've probably got all the exits covered, Sasuke. We'll need to make our own."

A rasengan turned wall to rubble, and the two of them took the newly created pathway. Naruto could use the rasengan several times in a row, while chidori could only be used three times a day. Naruto was going to keep blasted until they found a way out of here.

And it worked. Eventually, Naruto's rasengan passed through the wall, and he found himself three stories in the air. The two of them hit the ground running. Sasuke knew there was a downside to Naruto's strategy: it was noisy. Several ROOTS had been able to lock on to their location, and were presently jumping down from the hole that Naruto had made, pursuing them.

"They're fast; bred for pursuit," said Sasuke, "you take Akiko-san back. I'll hold them off."

"I have a better idea. We'll both fight," argued Naruto.

"Idiot! What if something happens to Akiko during the fight!? One of us has to keep going!"

"Well then, you go, Sasuke! I'll stay!"

"What? No! I'll stay!" replied Sasuke stubbornly.

"Why? It doesn't matter who stays and who goes, right? As long as Aki-chan gets back safely…"

"If it doesn't matter who stays, then why don't you just let me st-…Akiko-san, hold still!"

While they were arguing, their pursuers had gained considerable ground. Akiko tried to get their attention to try and make them aware that the group from ROOTS was just about in attack range. But she got their attention too late. The enemy was already making hand signs, maneuvering around Naruto and Sasuke so that there was no escape.

"Hand over the girl," one of them commanded.

"Shit!" cursed Naruto, "if you just would have taken Aki-chan like I asked, we wouldn't have been caught!"

"It was your fault!" Sasuke accused him.

The ninja around them drew their kunai.

"I won't ask you again. Hand over the girl, or we'll take her by force."

Purple smoke. No one had seen the smokebombs coming. But who had thrown them? Naruto felt himself get tugged by the arm, and he put up a little resistance.

"Naruto, don't resist, you idiot! I'm helping you!"

Chouji? It was definitely Chouji's voice.

"Geez, Baka-kun. I leave you here for a few days and you've already gotten yourself and Kiko into some major trouble." The sigh of this girl's voice was all too familiar. "Looks like you guys would fall apart without me, after all."

"Seriously. I just got back from a mission. I wanted to go home and relax, but no, I had to come out here and fight some more…"

That lazy bastard had to be Shikamaru.

When the smoke cleared, the three of them were standing in front of Naruto and Sasuke.

"Nara Shikamaru," noted the enemy leader, "I see. Kage mane no jutsu, eh?"

The five ROOTS were trapped by Shikamaru's shadow, which had captured them while the smoke was still thick.

"Suki…" Naruto called her name with a huge grin.

"What's with that dumb smile? Are you that happy to see me?" she smiled back.

"Yeah."

The forwardness of his response caught her off guard. She had expected him to deny it, although it made her happy to hear it.

"Well, it's good to be back," she said, "and it looks like we got here just in time."

"Did Tsunade-sama tell you guys what to do if you captured any prisoners?" asked Sasuke.

"No, but since the enemy are also ninja of this village, she said they are not to be fatally harmed," said Shikamaru.

One of the captured ninja laughed.

"That's the kind of thinking that Danzou-sama despises. A smart leader would eliminate all threats without hesitation. If you interrogate us, we won't talk. If you let us live, we won't hesitate to carry out Danzou-sama's orders through any means necessary."

"Hah! Is your resolve to protect this village so weak?" shouted another, "Hesitation to destroy the enemy only shows weakness. Tsunade is weak and- ack!"

"You're annoying," called Shikamaru as he extended shadowy hands to bind the necks of all five men, "we'll take you back to the Hokage and she'll figure out what to do with you."

The men fell unconscious, and Suki, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji had to team up to drag them all the way back to Tsunade.

-xxx-

Kabuto appeared just outside of the village walls where he had left his transportation scroll. He took a few seconds to heal the cut on his arm, and then he made his way to the top of the nearest tree. He singled out the Hokage's tower and the ROOTS building. Those two were going to be the main bases for each side in this domestic struggle, and either Tsunade was going to keep Naruto in the tower or Danzou was going to capture Naruto and take him to ROOTS. He knew the layout of both of the buildings very well; he had successfully infiltrated both of them in the past. Danzou and Tsunade were going to be preoccupied with each other. But Itachi seemed to be after him, so Kabuto knew he had to watch his back. But he didn't know he would have to do it so soon.

"Hey there, four-eyes."

Kabuto turned. Hoshigaki Kisame.

"How did you find me so fast?" Kabuto asked.

"Itachi told me that if I hung around out here, he'd send me someone to kill. Just a few moments ago, I smelled your blood."

"Of course. Sharks can smell blood from miles away. Itachi only wounded me so that you would be able to find me. I'm guessing he wants to save his strength in case he runs into someone like Jiraiya?"

"Yup. He wanted to take you out because you have the other seven rings. It would cause trouble for us if we sealed the kyuubi and you were still alive. Itachi said he's only after that Naruto brat, so even if he doesn't have the other rings, its fine as long as no one else has them."

"Is that so?" Kabuto remarked, "Well, even though you came here to kill me, you might find that the outcome will be the exact opposite."

"Whatever. Try not to be boring and die in one hit."

"Suiton! Oonami Bakuha!!" (Water Element: Surge Explosion)

The signature opening move covered the ground under several feet of water.

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Another disturbance came in the form of a voice in Danzou's earpiece. Communication was going to be essential in the upcoming battle, so each of his squad leaders was tuned into the same frequency radio so that he could issue orders to them directly. The voice that was coming through now was a young captain codenamed Sai.

"Danzou-sama, the men pursuing Akiko-san have been subdued, but my team has taken an important hostage."

"Who is it?" asked Danzou into the headpiece.

"Haruno Sakura. She was found trying to sneak into the base. We captured her immediately, but one of the men needs medical attention."

"Bring the girl to me right away. I have a new assignment for you, Sai."

"Understood, sir. I'm on my way up."

Danzou had been quite angry at the loss of a valuable hostage, but he had just acquired someone even more valuable.

-xxx-

This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to go save Sasuke, Naruto, and Akiko. But when she saw that the ROOTS lobby was crawling with guards, she had to find another way in. Unfortunately, when she snuck around to the other side of the building, she ran right into a group of five of them. Apparently they were just as surprised as she was, and she had managed to land one of those super-human hits on the man closest to her. After that, though, the remaining four teamed up to overpower her.

Haruno Sakura. Apprentice to the Hokage. One of the most talented medical ninja in Konoha. Captured.

It was nothing new to her, this feeling of uselessness. In the days of team seven, Naruto and Sasuke fought all of their battles, and Sakura hardly did a thing at all. Were they still so far ahead of her that she was just in the way? She had always been more than a step or two behind her team mates in ability; she had to be saved all the time. She felt too low to be considered alive. Sasuke and Naruto had poured their hearts into their training, and that was why they got so strong. Had Sakura's own desires to be strong been so weak? But the reality was that she was still a chuunin. ANBU and ROOTS were elite.

Why had she thought she could've done something to help? Naruto always ran off without thinking, but he had the skills to make up for his lack of planning. She wasn't as strong as him; in fact, she knew very few of people who were. It simply was not a good feeling, being dragged along by this Sasuke look-alike.

He took her all the way to up the stairs to a large office room. There, she came face to face with the mastermind of the whole ROOTS operation.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura. You've probably heard my name by now, but I believe this is the first time we've met in person. I am Danzou. It is quite a pleasure to meet you, my dear."

His smile was malicious.

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Tsunade and Jiraiya made freeing Akiko look relatively easy, much to Naruto's dismay. A few minutes under Tsunade's healing hands relieved her of any injury. The five captured ROOTS ninja were taken to a holding cell where they awaited Morino Ibiki and his unit of interrogators.

And with everyone gathered together, the Hokage got to explaining how things were going to go down.

She had ordered that the business district be evacuated and closed off to civilians. If it came down to a fight between Anbu and ROOTS, that was where the main fighting would probably take place. Danzou had already acted aggressively, so ROOTS wasn't going to be able to just back down now. They were going to try to do whatever it was they were trying to do; most likely putting Danzou into a position to become Hokage. A coup d' tat had never been attempted before in the history of the village, but today they were going to see the first attempt.

Everyone had to be watchful if Tsunade's leadership was to be preserved.

"I have Anbu placed all over the city. Itachi, Kisame, and Kabuto would have to be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to remain in the village at this point. I think that both parties have fallen back for now and will keep an eye on how things develop here. But just in case one of them tries to make a move, Naruto will stay here with me until this conflict is resolved."

Naruto protested, of course, but Tsunade would hear none of it. She ignored him and briefed the others, moving over to the layout of Konoha that was spread out on her desk.

"Unfortunately, I do not know much about the shinobi who are under Danzou's command, but I do know the strength of the ninja under mine. Jiraiya, Danzou will want to avoid his men having any confrontations with you, so I need you to hold this position here at point A. Kurenai and Asuma's teams have already taken positions down near the river, and Anko's team is moving to point B, so I'll need Shikamaru and Chouji to hold point C with Sasuke and Neji. Suki and Akiko will press forward into enemy territory and get to point E. If we use points A and C as anchors, Jiraiya, Suki, and Akiko can penetrate and split the enemy lines right down the middle, allowing the Anbu squads to get past the front lines and surround the enemy."

Jiraiya looked over her strategy.

"Using a few elite teams to hold the enemy and using me to create a breach in the enemy lines so that Anbu can pour through the hole and separate ROOTS into two smaller forces. Is that right, Tsunade?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Well," said Jiraiya, "you certainly are putting a lot of faith in the jounin whom you sent to hold the front lines. And you've got a lot of faith in me if you think I'll be able to break their lines single-handed."

"I have no doubt that you can, and I also believe that the teams I sent can hold out for the necessary amount of time. I can count on all of you, right?"

"Let's do it!" shouted Chouji.

"I owe those bastards," said Akiko, rubbing the spot on her face that had been previously throbbing.

An Anbu guard entered the room with urgency.

"Hokage-sama, a messenger from ROOTS has arrived."

Tsunade glanced over at Jiraiya. He looked just as suspicious of this messenger as she was.

"Escort him here," she ordered.

The ninja left and returned a moment later. Accompanying him was a peculiar, black, human-like figure. It looked like an ink picture had come to life.

"Hello," the thing greeted everyone in the room with a watery voice.

"What business do you have here?" asked Tsunade.

"I was told to bring Uzumaki Naruto a message," the thing answered.

"I'm right here," said Naruto, stepping forward, "what is it?"

"Danzou-sama requests that you come back to the ROOTS building," it said, "And he wants you and you to come, as well."

It pointed to Suki and Akiko in turn.

Then, it spoke to Tsunade. "Danzou-sama has promised to hold off attack until his business with Naruto is completed."

"Why the hell would I go back there?" asked Naruto incredulously.

"Because we have the girl called Haruno Sakura."


	45. The Strongest Hatred

Hello all. Well, I don't really have much to say today besides the fact that I have nothing to say, so thanks and have a nice day.

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Konohagakure: The Hidden Leaf. Nestled against the mountains of the Fire Country, this village has stood proudly as one of the great shinobi powers in the world. Traditions of strength and honor were customary here, and several world famous ninja had been raised by the code of the Leaf headband. It was truly a glorious place; one full of history and pride. But it could be so much more…

The leadership of the village had fallen; the very pillars on which the concept of what it meant to be a shinobi were created were crumbling away under false Hokages.

Ninja are not regular people. They are gifted. They have responsibilities that others do not have. They cannot live as normal people do.

The path of a shinobi is harsh and disciplined. Their way of life is strict. A ninja must sacrifice personal values and commodities for the sake of the village. He should abandon all emotion and think with pure logic. The glory and well-being of the village should come before all things: possessions, happiness, life.

More than the two before him, Sandaime swerved from the course of that path. He ruled with his heart and made decisions based on his own emotions. If he truly cared for Konoha, he would have ignored emotional impulses and made the most rational decision.

And then, that day came. Ninja lost their lives and homes and family to the fox. The fourth was able to stop the demon's rampage. That should have been the end of it.

The boy should have died, and the fox along with him.

Yet their emotional attachments to the boy led Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and the others to let him live.

Danzou first realized what was happening when undisciplined brats like Uzumaki Naruto were permitted to carry the title of shinobi. One as hot-headed and emotionally fueled as that boy should never have been accepted. And it is because of that emotion that the boy was a threat to his comrades and everyone around him.

The fox had taken the two things that the old man fought for so fervently: his family and his village. Even his ability to be a shinobi and protect what was left of his noble village was taken away from him. No longer able to walk that path, Danzou was no longer obligated to follow the rules that ninja must follow. Revenge drove him, and the emotion of hatred filled him so that there was room for nothing else.

And here he stood, on the dry, dirt road. The footsteps of great visionaries had paved this road, but Danzou was going to surpass them all. With ROOTS at his back, he would restore Konoha to what it should be; to its former glory.

Today would be the culmination of the long years of his life. Today there would be revolution.

Twenty of his finest were lined up behind him; four groups of five, a little less than half of his full force. He could smell victory. He could taste it. And he felt it in his old bones: his time had come.

Next to him, bound so tightly that she could not blink, stood the little pink haired girl. Thanks to her, he had yet another way to force Naruto's hand. The boy would definitely trade his life for this girl's. And just in case, Danzou had told Suki and Akiko to come here with them so that they too would be in danger. The boy had inherited the weak-minded habits of the Third and Fourth. Even though the scroll he held within him was of the utmost importance to the safety of the village, Tsunade's rule, and his own personal well-being, he would trade it for the lives of three overall unimportant girls.

Danzou just didn't understand. If he was ever in a similar situation, and his family was being held hostage in exchange for something that could compromise the village, he knew exactly what he would do. His family had responsibilities too. Dying for the sake of Konoha was nothing to regret. His children would have rather died than see their father let something vital to Konoha slip into enemy hands.

His family had not died honorably, though; his family had been murdered. Their lives were stolen for no particular reason. And the one who had stolen them away was now coming this way.

Uzumaki Naruto…and the kyuubi.

Naruto came rushing in, stopping dead right in front of him. The two faithful followers stood loyally at the boy's side.

"You didn't think you were going to see me again so soon, did you, Naruto?"

That smile again; so full of spite.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you," Naruto told him, "I told you last time: now that you've gone as far as doing this to my friends, I won't ever forgive you."

"The one who needs forgiveness here is you, boy, and I'll pardon you when you're dead. You already know what I seek. Give it to me." Danzou held out his hand.

Naruto didn't move. Danzou signaled to the twenty behind him. They all stepped forward.

"I dare you to refuse me, boy. These girls will be screaming for mercy right here in front of you."

"Why?" Naruto asked, distraught, "why are you doing this to fellow ninja? We're all from Konoha, right? We're comrades."

"I see. Because we're all from the same village, you believe us to be comrades. Well, perhaps we could have been on friendlier terms, that is, if that demon you carry hadn't erased everything that was precious to me."

"You're still going on about that, old man!?" Suki shouted angrily, "that has nothing to do with Naruto."

"Nothing to do with him, you say!?" Danzou fired back, "it has everything to do with him!"

Suki was going to yell something else, but Naruto stopped her.

"Yelling at him won't help, Suki. If he feels that way towards me, then just let it be. It can't be helped anyway."

She fell silent. Naruto was right. The man had lived so many years of his life resenting Naruto and the nine-tailed fox. It was pointless to try to argue something that in his mind was the total truth.

The silence retreated as Danzou broke into a hefty chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Akiko asked him.

Danzou only answered her after another few seconds of haughty laughter.

"Boy…I've been watching you closely from the day you were born. I know how you think. You may be able to hide it from these naïve girls, but you can't hide it from me."

The three girls' attention moved directly to the boy, and the boy himself just stared him straight in the eye questioningly.

"'If he feels that way towards me, then just let it be,' right, Naruto? You've become accustomed to being looked down upon for what you are. It doesn't really matter if one more person in this world likes you or not, right? That's what you say. But there's one person who hates the kyuubi even more than I ever could, isn't there?"

Another quick laugh forced a pause from Danzou.

"That's you, brat. I know. I understand. You hate the nine-tailed fox. You hate that it attacked the village and killed so many people, including the parents of your beloved Iruka-sensei. You hate that you were unable to meet your father and live a bitter childhood. You hate that you put your comrades at risk every time you fight together, knowing that the kyuubi might take over, and you'd be helpless to stop it."

Akiko, Suki, Sakura. They watched as the emotion in Naruto's eyes were washed away, leaving nothing but an empty stare. Those amazing blue-colored eyes were thin as ice that looked like they would shatter at the slightest touch.

"You are cursed to carry such a thing inside of you for the rest of your life. You can always feel it, can't you, in the back of your mind? That foulness is always lingering, just beyond the darkness. No matter what, you can't escape it. And that's not even the worst of it, is it, Naruto? Above all else, you hate the fact that the kyuubi is the strongest part of yourself. Without it, you wouldn't have made it this far. Your mission in the Land of Waves would have been disastrous, Hyuuga Neji would have defeated you in the chuunin exams, and Gaara would have killed your entire team if it hadn't been for the kyuubi. You hate having to rely on the thing that you despise, yet you have no choice. You are not strong enough by yourself. Even now, you're struggling, aren't you? You're trying to find a way to get all of these girls away from here, and the only option you see is to unleash that power…that demon."

"There have been times when you rushed selflessly into battle to save your friends. You have said things like: 'I have to defeat this guy even if I die in order to protect my friends,' or 'don't worry, I'll never die until I become Hokage.' But in reality, in the back of your mind, there is a darker thought: maybe it won't be so bad if I die, since the nine-tailed fox will also die. I can free you, Naruto, and you can spare these girls any harm. Just give me the scroll."

Birds chirping, wind blowing: these sounds were not heard. Everyone stared at Naruto in utter, dead silence.

"You're right, Danzou. I'm just a second away from opening this damn cage and letting the fox bastard's chakra out, and I don't think you'll like it if I do. But before I do that, I'm going to ask you a question. Depending on you're answer, and whether or not I think you're telling the truth or not, I may or may not give the 'key' to you."

The old man considered this proposal. Even if the boy used the powers of the kyuubi, he doubted that he could defeat all twenty of his men. Factoring in Suki and Akiko, three against twenty was still an overwhelming favorite. And once Naruto's attempt failed, he would make the girls pay. There was no way in Danzou's mind that he could lose here. So he agreed.

"What do you plan to do with the kyuubi once you have the means to control it its chakra? What will happen to the village?"

"My desire all along," started Danzou, "was to remind everyone of the fear…and the pain. Your generation is too young to remember the kyuubi's attack on this village, and the older generations seem to have forgotten how terrifying the fox can be. Some have even come to accept you, despite knowing what you are. But I will remind them. Once I have the scroll in my hands, I will release the seal on your body, allowing the kyuubi to be born once again in this world. And then the people will feel it: the fear. And when they see their homes and families being crushed around them, they will feel the pain. But Tsunade will feel it the most. Fear for her people, and pain in having to order the execution of a ninja who caries the dreams of her past loved ones on his shoulders. I, of course, will pull my troops back and let Anbu and the other jounin take care of the situation. And when this horrible 'tragic accident' is concluded, my men will move in and seize the village while Tsunade's forces are crippled. I will expose Tsunade for what she is: an unfit leader whose way of thinking allowed the vile beast to remain alive in the first place. And in the midst of all the chaos, I will rebuild Konoha to heights never before reached, and the villagers will accept me as their Hokage."

Naruto nodded. The girls looked to each other in worry. Just what exactly was going through Naurto's mind at this exact moment?

"You fail," he stated simply.

Orange and glowing, demon chakra swirled around him.

**It's been a while, kid. Embrace me and I'll kill all those guys for you.**

_Shut up, stupid ass. I'm only borrowing a little._

He made one hand sign to concentrate his chakra: a simple t-shape with his fingers. He remembered all the training he did with chakra control. Perfecting the control of one's chakra allowed a person to minimize the energy needed to use techniques. Sato and Baine had worked on this with him very closely, and with this chakra borrowed from the kyuubi, he was preparing to create most shadow clones he had ever made.

And in a single moment, his handicap of one versus twenty was turned into an advantage of twenty versus well over a thousand.

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Water is the most essential thing for all living creatures. But as Kabuto was finding out, too much of it could be quite troublesome, especially in the hands Kisame. When Kabuto tried to get close, the freakish sharkman's skill with the sword was frightening. And when Kabuto tried to keep his distance, there was suiton ninjutsu coming at him nonstop. With the battlefield covered in water, and the actual ground way below the surface, earth jutsu wasn't going to be of much use. Kisame, on the other hand, could get around quickly both above and below the water. In fact, he used that to his advantage for his next attack.

He went in to attack. Kabuto dodged the first two swings of Samehada, but not the kick to the gut that came directly after. Landing hard on the surface of the water, Kabuto didn't have time to recover. A hard punch to the face came from the below courteous of a well placed water clone, and he was airborne. The clone followed him upwards, appearing right before him as he rocketed upwards. After the exchange of a few fists, Kabuto managed to land a hit, causing the clone to revert back to its base form. But instead of falling harmlessly back down to earth, the water surrounded him and trapped him in a sphere prison.

"Suiton! Suirou no jutsu!" (Water Element: Aqua Prison)

He fell back down while trapped in the technique, but upon landing, he was able to break free, using his medical ninjutsu to turn his hands into chakra scalpels, enabling him to cut through things formed from chakra. But no sooner had he did, Kisame rushed in with Samehada, sweeping the air with a mighty swing. The left side of Kabuto's face was left shaved.

Instinctively, Kabuto started to heal his wound.

"Like I'd let you do that!"

Kisame swung his sword downwards, but Kabuto caught it with his chakra enhanced hands. That was the beginning of the end.

"Heh. Orochimaru never fought me, and we really didn't get along while that bastard was still in Akatsuki. Naturally, he didn't know everything about my sword here. It can absorb chakra, you see."

Kabuto felt his chakra leaving him. He gathered up his strength and pushed away. Still grinning, Kisame made three shadow clones that acted as guards while the real body gathered his chakra.

Kabuto had two choices: either wait for Kisame to finish his hand signs and try to avoid this technique, or get in there and try to prevent him from using it. He chose the latter.

The first clone was sidestepped easily, and the second one was gone in a single punch. The third, however, put up a fight, and Kabuto had to reset his attack and charge in once more. One clone dove underwater and the other came in from the right. A nicely thrown kunai knife threw the clone's timing off by just enough so that their attack wasn't in perfect synch, and he was able to deal with them one at a time.

But he had already taken too much time.

"Suiton! Ookii Uzumaki no jutsu!" (Water Element: Big Whirlpool Technique)

As the name of the jutsu suggested, the water beneath them began to swirl, resulting in a huge whirlpool. Kabuto was sucked into it and pulled all the way down to the bottom.

"Suiton! **Kaiyou Kujiku!" (Water Element: Ocean Crush)**

**Everything seemed to descend into slow motion through Kabuto's eyes. The mountainous waves that arched around him seemed almost beautiful with the white foam and the small, circular rainbows that formed from the light mist that formed at the very edges of the water. Rainbows. Since the old times, rainbows were said to represent snakes and bad omens. He instantly thought of his late master, the greatest of the Sannin, Orochimaru. **

**And in this final moment, this man felt the despair of a life and a dream left unfinished. It was quite an unfathomably horrible feeling to have. **

**Helpless. Afraid. With his last breath he called for his master to save him. **

**With Kabuto at the very bottom of Kisame's man-made sea, all the water came crashing down to bury him with incredible force. The pressure of the impact was too great for Kabuto to handle, and his body was crushed by the mountain of water that came rumbling down on him.**

**"Hmph. What a loser…" Kisame remarked, resting Samehada across his shoulder.**

**Itachi stood up from his perch where he had been watching the fight.**

**"Like Tsunade, his specialty was medical ninjutsu and the reanimation of dead tissue. Although he was a capable fighter, his true talent was elsewhere."**

**"I thought you were going to stay back in the village," said Kisame.**

**"Right now, both Tsunade and Danzou have their people on full alert. I'd be found out rather easily. For now, we do what Kabuto was planning to do: watch from afar and strike when the time is right."**

**Kisame gave a sigh.**

**"Can't say I like those tactics very much, but since I've had my fun for today, we'll do it your way."**

**They left. The absence of Kisame caused the water to slowly recede. When it dried up, there was a single corpse lying in the mud among a patch of drowned daisies. The body had been crushed so severely that no would ever be able to tell that it was the remains of a man named Yakushi Kabuto. **

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Mosquitoes, every single one of them. There were so many. Just a single one of them was annoying enough, and with so many of them swarming around, it was chaos. They attacked with no signs of relenting. These clones…even if an entire group of them was destroyed, it felt like no progress was being made at all. Each and every one of these clones could use its own techniques, and even though they were gone in one hit, it wasn't always easy to land one on any of them. Alone, the boy had considerable skill; enough to beat any one of these ROOTS in single combat. And right now, there was so many of them that the line to enter the fight was backed up for about three blocks on all sides. Each clone was protecting the copy beside it, all the while raining wind techniques down with no remorse.

Danzou watched as his twenty men were blasted from all directions. One man taking on a team of twenty...was this really happening? Such a thing was disgracing the very name of ROOTS.

Surrounded by so many clones, it was impossible for him to make an escape. He had no choice. This was half of his force. If they went down, there was no way he'd stand a chance against Tsunade's Anbu. The plan to unleash the kyuubi was as important as ever.

"Calling all squads! Rally at the meeting point!" he shouted into his radio.

Suki and Akiko dared not enter the fray, however, lest they be caught in the crossfire of jutsu that were being thrown back and forth. The ROOTS ninja, deciding that being separated would be catastrophic, formed into a tight circle around Danzou. It also proved useful in preventing their comrades from hitting each other with the large scale jutsu required to take out groups of the clones at a time.

Several of the Narutos threw in some exploding kunai around the perimeter of the circle, creating a huge diversion. All the clones ran towards them in an all out rush in hopes that one of them would be able to grab Sakura and get her out of there. The plan worked, and the clone who had rescued her delivered her safely to Suki and Akiko before heading back into the fight.

Another Naruto, probably the real deal, stepped to the side to address the three spectators. Even though he tried to hide it with a confident smile, the look of thin ice in his eyes hadn't changed.

"More people are coming, and I might not have enough chakra to make another one thousand clones. We should fall back for now, since Sakura-chan is safe. My clones here should be able to hold these guys off for a while."

"If you say so, Maki-san…" Akiko said, glancing back at the fierce battle that was taking place behind her.

The real Naruto, mixed in with the huge crowd of fakes, watched as the three girls safely evacuated the battlefield with one of his clones. They wouldn't be happy when they found out he had tricked them. But he had told Danzou that he would not forgive him, and he would probably be able to hold out at least until Tsunade gave him some backup.

And that speech just before the fight...it was tormenting him. He would show Danzou what he could do with his own power. But perhaps it was him who needed to prove his own worth to himself.


	46. The Fate he was Saved From

Hello, hello. Yeah so I just wanna say thanks to nma1 and HT. I've heard from you guys after each and every single chapter for a long time, and if you ask me that's pretty awesome. Seriously. Like, if you two didn't review, I'd be sad.

Anyway, for anyone else who is reading this right now, thank you, as well. You've gone through 40-something chapters of this poppycock and I appreciate that (if you hadn't noticed, I pretty much say the same thing every single time) By the way, I have no idea how like half of the chapter last time ended up being in bold. Didn't show up that way on my computer until I posted it.

Well then, until next time…

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Akiko, Naruto, and Suki made it back to base safely, and Sakura was with them. Sasuke hurried to make sure she was all right, and she told him that she was just fine. Once he established that she was all right, he listened in on the other two girls who had begun to explain what had happened. And the more he listened, the more he began to worry. He eyed Naruto suspiciously, who was standing off to in the corner. Leaving Sakura's side, he went over to where the blonde-haired boy was standing and roughly turned him so that they were facing each other.

"Sasuke, what the hell?" he cried defensively.

"You're a clone, aren't you?" Sasuke asked flatly.

"Sshhhh!" whispered Naruto angrily.

"I knew it…" the young Uchiha sighed.

"Listen, Sasuke. Help me stall the Old Lady as much as possible. The longer you keep her from sending reinforcements, the better."

"Are you crazy!? Why would I agree to something like that?"

Naruto was staring him straight in the eye now, and Sasuke was trying to avoid it. He knew that if he saw that determination in his friend's eyes, he might be persuaded to listen to him.

"You know that feeling, don't you? The feeling that there's something that you just have to do yourself. I know you know what that's like, so I trust you enough to ask you to do this…"

Impossible. Ridiculous. He was asking him to leave him out there to fight forty people by himself. Did Naruto think he was just going to agree to such a thing?

Sasuke," Naruto said quite sternly, "I spent three years of my life training and looking for you. I risked my life and the lives of my good friends to bring you back to this village, and I didn't utter a word of complaint when you and Sakura started going out. You're always saying that there is no way you could possibly thank me enough. Sasuke, if you want to know a way to repay, then do this for me, now. I won't forgive you if you if you tell everyone to rush over here."

Finally, he was playing this card. He was so serious about this that he was willing to drag all of that stuff into it. What could Sasuke do when the entire debt of his happy life in Konoha was on the line? Naruto wasn't going to back down; not now, not ever.

Sakura had been secretly watching the entire scene from the beginning. She couldn't hear what they were mumbling about, but from the stiffness of their body language she judged that it must be something serious. Again, they weren't trusting her with something. She made her way over to her team mates who were practically staring each other to death.

"What's the matter, you guys?" she asked, joining them in the corner.

The two of them jumped at the sound of her voice.

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto before answering.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I was just checking on Naruto since he probably wouldn't tell anyone if he was injured."

Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's forehead.

"Well, I'm not sensing anything irregular, so he should be fine."

"Yup, I'm fine. I told you not to worry, Sasuke!" he said with a smile.

"Yeah…"

Sakura got the feeling that she had just been severely lied to.

"Okay!" came the Hokage's voice, "all teams are to be positioned around ROOTS headquarters. We'll box them in and take them out. But…try not to use lethal force unless absolutely necessary."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama!" the room full of ninja responded.

"Hold on a second, Granny!" Naruto called.

The room split in half so that Tsunade would have a clear view of him.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"I think it might be a trap."

"What makes you think that?"

Sasuke didn't care to listen. He was only going to make things up at this point, and it didn't matter whether Tsunade and the other jounin believed him or not, he just needed to stall. Naruto had told him not to send everyone rushing to help, but Sasuke wasn't everyone; he was just one person.

"Where are you going Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura.

"Bathroom."

He mentally apologized to her. He didn't like lying, but she would want to come with him, and he didn't want her somewhere that dangerous.

The Uchiha had already made up his mind. Naruto didn't want everyone rushing to help him, he had made that clear. But just as Naruto had talked sense into him, maybe he could talk some sense into Naruto. He owed him that much, at least.

"…and when we all get there, he'll probably set off the trap," finished Naruto.

The room was filled with confused faces.

"What? I didn't understand anything you just said, kid…"

"Okay," said Naruto, "let me try to clarify, then. I think it might be a trap because…"

That was the last thing Sasuke heard. Once he closed the door to Tsunade's office, he was running. When he made it to the street below, he found two people waiting for him. One was an older man with long, white hair, the other was his age, black hair and a tired expression.

"You look surprised," said Jiraiya, "You're not the only one who has worked with that guy enough to know how he thinks. He can't fool the great Toad Sage with the same trick twice, you know."

"So…Tsunade-sama knows?" asked Sasuke.

"Of course she does. Tsunade's always had a sympathetic side for Naruto, so she's giving a head start to go and fetch the kid before she can 'discover' that he tricked everyone. We don't have much time, though; she won't play along with his nonsense for long, not in this situation."

"We've got a basic strategy," said Shikamaru, "I'll hold them down with kage mane. Sasuke, you have to find the real Naruto and get him out of there quickly, and Jiraiya will cover us while we escape. By that time, the rest of the jounin will be on their way."

"Let's go, then," said Sasuke, and he led the way to where Naruto was fighting alone.

-xxx-

Most of the original twenty had already passed their limit, but the twenty that had just arrived were fresh. Still, Naruto's clones were as ruthless as ever, using the shadow shuriken technique to multiply the number of their already absurd amount of shuriken. But even so, he was running out of stamina quickly. He and his clones were raining down jutsu after jutsu; and allowing mass shadow clones to use so many techniques at the same time was unthinkable for anyone but him.

But he was doing it. He was singlehandedly holding off ROOTS, and not one tail of red chakra had formed. Exhausted and depleted, he fought on. But in his current state, his reflexes were slow and his speed had fallen, allowing some of the faster members of ROOTS to pass his defenses and wipe out rows of clones. The mixture of diverse techniques and years of teamwork between his foes eventually proved too much to handle. In the end, there were only a handful of kage bunshins left, surrounded by the dozen or so ninja left standing.

"I get it, boy," called Danzou as he stepped forward, "there's no way that you will willingly give me the scroll. It looks like I'll just have to take you in and study the nature of that jutsu Jiraiya taught you and see if I can find a means to reverse it. I knew that I my organization lacked the strength to overcome Tsunade with brute military force, not with people like Jiraiya and Uchiha on your side. And with your performance today, I realize that had I attempted it, we would have been annihilated. That's why you were the most important piece of the puzzle, Naruto. You still are. As long as I have that fox inside of you, Konoha may yet fall."

The Naruto's stood, gasping for every ounce of air they could fill their lungs with.

"Heh…come on now, old man. As the future Hokage, how the hell would I ever let that happen!?"

"I also believe myself to be the next Hokage. Do you think my resolve is any less than yours?"

It was question not meant to be answered, but pondered. And Naruto knew that the man's conviction, although drawn from an opposite source, was no less than his own. Danzou truly believed that what he was doing was the best for Konoha, and his men would follow him because they believed in it as well. And just like Naruto, they were all willing to die for their cause.

Naruto was not going to win; that fact could not be changed. There was only one thing he could do now, and that was show Danzou that he would never stop fighting. They were never going to be able to kidnap him because he had already decided to stay on his feet until his very last breath. As long as his heart was beating, his fists would be swinging. There was so much at stake here, and even if he was helpless, Danzou would know that Naruto was going to hold true to what he believed in to the very end. Since the beginning, and in the end, it was the only thing he knew how to do, the only thing that kept someone like him going; the power of a dream.

His clones rushed the twelve men decisively, but found their cloud-like ends. And then only one was standing. His body ached fatigue and every ounce of his physical being was screaming at him to collapse. But he stood there with a kunai in his hand.

They thought he was done. They thought that now it was safe to get close to him and just carry him off. They were wrong.

The first man in line received a stab wound to the chest. The second took a fist firmly to the jaw. They tried to team up and grab all of the boy's arms and legs. When they got a hold of him, it was revealed that it was a clone when the explosive tag on its back sent the four men flying. Confused, two of the remaining men, standing side by side, fell victim to a pair of rasengans that came from the hand of one of Danzou's own. After that, though, he took quite a kick to the gut and tumbled backwards from the impact.

"You guys miscounted," he laughed, "You didn't notice that during the chaos, there was one too many people among you. With all you guys preoccupied with the clones, it was easy to disguise myself as one of you."

He had hoped to take out more while he still had the element of surprise, but it looked like seven of them were conscious and still able to fight. But it looked like some of the others who he had knocked out were starting to get up. The transformation had been his last defense, and the rasengan had burned his chakra. This was it. They were ready to come at him at full force.

But before Naruto knew it, he was coiled head to toe by a large snake. And from that point onward he couldn't see what was going on.

-xxx-

Jiraiya gave a whistle as the ROOTS building came into sight. The place was a battlefield. There were impact craters everywhere, unconscious bodies to the left and right, and there were so many shuriken stuck in the ground that there was barely room to walk.

"Damn," Jiraiya called, "I didn't think the kid would take out so many. If this is the case we can just finish these guys off."

The ROOTS men jumped back to regroup as the three-man rescue party took their places between them and Naruto.

Seven. But several of them were getting back to their feet. That would make fifteen. Danzou looked at his men. He had lost. His whole plan had been undone without Tsunade lifting a finger. The boy had been underestimated…severely. One thousand of his clones took out the majority of Danzou's men. If Naruto had been a bit wiser in the usage of his chakra, the boy would've had clones to spare after clearing out the entirety of ROOTS. Even if they were just clones, how were forty men supposed to fight one thousand? The lifetime of work that Danzou had put into getting ROOTS to this point had been taken apart by one bratty little kid; inside of whom resided the hated nine-tailed fox. It was because of that cursed fox…everything was ruined.

Danzou could choose to stay and fight it out until the end. He was old; another attempt at the village would take another few years of preparation. Those were years that he didn't have. Escaping and planning the next attack would be futile for him. However, if he did that, he would be tried and most likely sentenced to death for treason. There was still a slight chance that he could see his vision for a better Konoha through if he fled, and that miniscule chance was looking like the better option. And so, four of his shinobi ran away with him while the other eleven stayed back to give them enough time.

"We can't let him get away! Sasuke, go after him!" Jiraiya commanded.

Without wasting another second, Sasuke sped past to give chase to Danzou. The ninja from ROOTS tried to stop him, but Shikamaru and Jiraiya stood in their way.

"You probably don't need my help, so I'll just stay out of your way," Shikamaru said, hoping to abstain from the fight.

"I need you to watch for anyone who might wake up. They'll either try to fight or run away, so before they do, just bind them with that move of yours. I'll take care of the rest."

"You think you can handle us by yourself just because you're a so-called Sannin?" one of the men barked.

Jiraiya didn't feel like talking back and forth with these guys. His apprentice had already done most of the work. It'd be embarrassing if the Great Jiraiya couldn't handle seven of them. With that in mind, he went all out.

If the seven of them didn't find toads very scary, they were about to be fairly surprised.

-xxx-

Because they were carrying someone not as mobile as a ninja should be, the four ROOTS were easy for Sasuke to catch up to. One of them turned back to fight him while the others kept going, but Sasuke got rid of him so fast he didn't know what hit him. Seeing this, the other three stopped, deciding it was better to use their numbers advantage. They attacked in a triangular formation, with two coming in from the sides and one attacking from behind. Instinctively, Sasuke reached for his katana. When he realized he didn't have it, it was almost too late to avoid the combined effort of the assault. The lateness of his replacement jutsu was too close for comfort. Had he waited a split second longer, he would have been blasted. Keeping on their toes, the three men quickly re-assessed Sasuke's location and proceeded to attack once more. One of the men shot a fire jutsu at Sasuke, hoping to distract him from the other two who were sweeping in from the side. Sasuke quickly copied the jutsu to counter it, and purposely let the other two get close. Once they were within range, the snakes that shot out from Sasuke's arms struck too fast for them to dodge. The snakes constricted them tightly so they couldn't breathe. The one remaining man tried to help, but genjutsu stopped him in his tracks. He released the two men when they passed out, and then turned on his real objective: the old man.

Danzou, after having watched three of his men defeated, tried to turn and run, but Sasuke easily outmatched the elder's speed.

"Looks like it ends here," he said.

Danzou just stopped. He had nothing to say, and he could only wait for death. It was done. All of this work had been in vain.

"I can see it in your eyes," said Sasuke, "you're wondering where you went wrong. I'll tell you this: you had no chance of success in the first place. The second Naruto was born, people like you stood no chance at all. That's what I believe."

"That kid…I hate him!" Danzou wailed, falling to his knees, "Why…all I wanted was to be at peace."

At that moment, Sasuke felt like he could sympathize with the poor man.

"I…understand how you feel. The kyuubi killed your family. You wanted revenge. You've been living off that hate for your whole life, waiting for the opportunity to finally get your hands on Naruto. You felt in your heart that if you could just accomplish that one thing, your life would be complete. I was exactly like you, once. But you failed, in the end. And now, you're looking back at your wasted life; the path you chose to walk is filled with regrets. You worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get revenge, and now that you know it is impossible, your entire life just feels hollow. And even if you had killed Naruto, what would you have? Your only mission was revenge. After you fulfilled that goal, what would be left? Nothing. You wasted your life to achieve an empty result. Only now, at your death, do you realize the consequences. You will die alone. You will die knowing that you could have lived a different way; a better way. You will die knowing that the hatred in your heart was meaningless this whole time. I was lucky. Naruto saved me from the very fate that you are experiencing right now. You are probably not able to understand what that kind of loyalty and trust is like, and it's because of that that I pity you the most."

Danzou, the hardened old veteran, never said a word. He stayed on his knees, defeated in every way. He had failed his village, his family, and himself. Why must he feel such disgrace in his final moments?

"Because of Naruto I can die knowing what it feels like to be happy. That's more than I can say for you. You probably just want me to end it, don't you? You don't want to continue this pathetic life any longer. And personally, as someone who threatened the friends who are most important to me and someone who reminds me of my former self, I can't stand to see you alive for a moment longer. Here is where you die, Danzou."

It didn't take much to kill such an old man. Sasuke barely even flicked him, and he was face down in the dirt, eyes lifeless and empty, just as they had been for fifteen long years.

Sasuke stared down at him and felt no pity.


	47. Cheer up

Hey guys. Much thanks for all the reviews, and as always, to for reading. Ok then, here we go! Chapter 4…umm…40-something. 45? I think so…I lost track.

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"That was it? Man, those ROOTS guys were pathetic!"

"It is…regrettable that they were unable to cause major damage."

Kisame and Itachi lingered just outside of the city limits, surveying the site where forty men had been defeated by very few.

"What do we do now?" Kisame asked.

Itachi knew what had to be done. He had hoped to put it aside until after obtaining the kyuubi, but his eyes were on the verge of darkness. For now, Naruto was going to have to be a secondary objective. The one he needed was…

"I have to pay my dear little brother a visit," Itachi replied.

"Oh? You remember what happened last time, don't you? Maybe he's already surpassed you, huh?"

"Don't be absurd. I was merely testing him. And it was a good excuse to get rid of that troublesome Zetsu. He was loyal to Paine…and Paine was loyal to Madara."

"I see. So there's strength you've kept hidden, even from me."

"That is correct. Now come, Kisame. Let us begin the final Act of this play."

Kisame grinned as he always did when something vile was amiss. And Itachi remained as cold as ever.

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ROOTS surrendered unconditionally. With nowhere to escape and no chance to win in a fight, they had no other choice. Tsunade was thankful that the whole thing had gone down quite smoothly. With the exception of Naruto –who was just plain fatigued- and the forty ROOTS ninja –whose injuries were mostly thanks to Naruto- no one got hurt. Had she known that Naruto was capable of taking on forty men by himself, she wouldn't have even worried to begin with. And she laughed when she remembered the kid she had so easily defeated with a simple flick of her finger. When she thought about it, Naruto was built perfectly for situations in which he was outnumbered. He had the chakra capacity and the stamina, and with a little more refining of his skill, his clones would be hard to get rid of even after considering the fact that they only needed one hit to disappear.

How would she, the Hokage herself, fare against the boy at this point? If she were facing one thousand Narutos, how would she attack? But her thoughts stopped right there. Having just one of the boy was troublesome enough. If there were one thousand of those loud mouthed, energetic, tireless clones in front of her, she would probably just give up on living. The sheer number of clones in itself would probably bewilder and disorient opponents. Tsunade and Jiraiya had told Naruto that he couldn't win every match with just a ridiculous amount of shadow clones. Although the outcome of fights were unpredictable due to varying factors, Tsunade didn't see how anyone she could think of would win against Naruto once he received a bit more training from Jiraiya. Plus, if he was willing to use even more of the kyuubi's chakra, he could make twice the amount of clones. Sheer numbers was his game, and mixed in with all the little tricks he pulled, Tsunade didn't see him losing very easily. Still, the kid had his weaknesses. Ninja like Deidara and Paine still posed a significant threat. Had they not been trying to keep him alive, Naruto very well could have been killed by those two men. But throughout the ninja world, long distance fighters with their caliber of area affect jutsu were very rare, and Naruto had yet to mature to his peak.

He was in bed now, in the hospital. Tsunade was at bedside, monitoring his respiration. And she couldn't help but smile. This boy never ceased to amaze her. The first time she had bet against him had been the last. Proving people wrong was like a way of life for him. This was the kid that got stomachaches for eating too much ramen or drinking milk that had gone sour. This was the kid that invented the infamous sexy jutsu, who girls loved to hit on the head, who was known as an idiot; but made everyone he ever met believe in something bigger than themselves.

This was the kid that was going to be the next Hokage.

The door to the room creaked open, and Sasuke entered. He glanced quickly down at his sleeping friend.

"He'll be fine once he wakes up," Tsunade told him.

Sasuke nodded. " Tsunade-sama…sorry. You told us not to use lethal force, but I went and killed an unarmed, weak, old man. I don't know what came over me."

"Its fine, Sasuke. Haven't you learned by now? Ninja are people, just like everyone else. No matter how much we try to deny it, when the time comes to make a decision, emotions will always be a factor. The pure logic reasoning that Danzou talked about does not exist; and it never did exist, not even in himself. When tragedy occurs, we cry. When we see something funny, we laugh. Even those who are experts at masking their emotions are crying and laughing in their hearts."

"I guess that's true," he responded.

"Is there anything else?" asked Tsunade. Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something.

"Well…about my chakra…I probably have to get it sealed again, don't I?"

His punishment for leaving the village; he wanted to face the consequences and was not going to back down from them.

"I think it's safe to say that you've proven yourself worthy, Sasuke. You had your chakra back to full strength for a few days, yet you did nothing to bring harm to the village nor did you try to escape. And, showing willingness to return to that weakened state means that you truly understand the severity and foolishness of your actions. I'll talk it over with the elders and see what I can do for you."

Sasuke bowed to her gratefully. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama," and he added, "when he wakes up, can you come and get me?"

"Sure."

He bowed again and left. Making sure he was gone, Tsunade frowned down at Naruto.

"I suppose you didn't want to talk to anyone? That's the fifth visitor now, and you've pretended to be asleep the whole time."

Naruto peeked one eye open to look up at her. "You knew I was awake?"

"Of course. Wouldn't be much of a medical ninja if I couldn't tell the difference between a sleeping brat and a conscious one," she told him simply.

"Of course…it kinda sucks that you can tell those kinds of things. I won't be able to get away with much."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find ways around it that will drive me crazy. But why won't you talk to anyone?"

"I know what they'll want to talk to me about, and I just don't feel like talking about it to anyone," said Naruto.

"I heard. It's about what Danzou said to you, right? Sakura told me about it," she said, finishing her check-up and moving away from the bed.

"Hey, Granny…"

She paused. Whenever he said 'hey, granny' in that sort of voice, he wasn't playing around.

"What is it?"

"Do you know why it had to be me? Why my dad couldn't seal the kyuubi in someone else?"

So, the boy had finally began to ask such questions. No, he most likely had been asking these questions all his life. The one he had just asked now had so many connotations. But now, finally, he felt he was mature enough to hear the answer to this question.

"Do you know the law of conservation of energy, kid?" Tsunade began her explanation with a question.

"The law of conversation and what now?" he asked, clueless.

"Geez. Well, the law states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only converted. The same applies to chakra. Chakra is not created; it's just there. It cannot be destroyed, only converted into jutsu. Basically, the laws of energy are also relevant to chakra."

Looking at the boy's face, she probably lost him at 'geez.'

"Anyway, as you know, the bijuu are massive entities of chakra that have taken on a physical body and conscience. Because they are held together by chakra alone, they cannot be destroyed."

"Umm…but…" came Naruto, trying to keep up, "if that's true, then they shouldn't have been created, right?"

"No, Naruto, that's not right," said Tsunade. "The bijuu exist because somehow, chakra was converted to form the entities like Gaara's shukaku and your kyuubi. The chakra itself was not created, and the only way to defeat the bijuu is to convert it to another form. Unfortunately, the only known way to do that is to seal the bijuu into hosts to keep them contained. Now, think about the stories of both you and Gaara. What are the similarities between the two of you when your bijuu were sealed and you became jinchuuriki?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit, then realized the connection.

"We were both newborns."

"That's right. Gaara was only a couple of days old, and you were so young that your umbilical cord had just been cut. You were barely thirty minutes old. Now, why do you think infants were used to seal the bijuu?"

"No clue."

"Innocence. Purity. There is nothing more blank than a newborn baby. None of their senses work properly yet. They can't distinguish the differences between anything. They have no perception whatsoever. Their minds are blank. That is why infants are so ideal. Entities like the shukaku and kyuubi are fueled by foul energies like malice and hatred. If a grown man were to absorb these energies, he would most likely go mad and be swallowed by the darkness. But if a newly born child was used, the side effects wouldn't be so dramatic. The baby would have yet to go through any life experiences to shape his personality and views of the world. Since their minds are blank, the extreme darkness of the bijuu would ultimately have little effect upon sealing. And it just so happened that Kushina went into labor right before the attack, and being the Fourth Hokage, your father was very talented in sealing techniques…"

"I see…" was all the boy said.

Tsunade could tell he was thinking very deeply about it. If he had any follow-up questions, she would gladly stay to answer them, so she waited.

"So, Old Lady…what happened to my mom?"

"She…died from complications a few hours after your birth."

"I see," he said darkly, "I guess I killed both my parents, then."

Tsunade almost lost her balance. She felt almost enraged that the kid would even think that about himself.

"No!" she said firmly, "Nothing that happened that night was your fault! Now, I don't want you to ever think such thoughts again, do you hear me!?"

"Either way…Danzou was right about one thing: I do hate the kyuubi. I resent him. If I was just a normal person, Akatsuki would have never been after me. Takahiro and Baine and Sato wouldn't have died. I-"

He would have kept on going, but Tsunade hit him so hard that he was blasted against the wall, leaving a large hole. Maybe she had gone a little overboard, but hopefully she had knocked some sense into him.

"What did I just say, you dumb brat!? It's not your fault. Now stop talking like that, it doesn't suit you at all!"

Naruto held his head in pain. Still depressed and thoughtful, his eyes fell to the floor.

"Sorry, Old Lady, but I just have to be alone for a bit."

He walked walked out the hole to and took off. Akiko and Suki came bursting through the door. They had been waiting outside of his room and had heard the yelling; not to mention the collision.

"What happened, Tsunade-sama?" asked Akiko.

The Hokage turned to them with concern written all over her face. He told them about the conversation she had had with Naruto.

"Please, will you guys try to talk to him? I don't think I've ever seen him like this before."

"You should go and find him, Suki," suggested Akiko, "when it comes to this, the only one he lets near him is you."

"Yeah, I know…" she said. She looked extremely worried and left immediately.

"Sorry for asking, since I was the cause," said Tsunade when Suki left, "but do you think you can fix the wall, Akiko-san?"

"Eh? I'll see what I can do…"

-xxx-

He was right where Suki thought he would be: sitting alone in front of the memorial stone. She was sure he heard her approach, but he didn't look up at her or say anything. She sat right behind him so that her back was leaning against his. He said nothing to object, so the first obstacle had been passed. Now, she had to start some conversation.

"All the jounin are talking about you, you know. You're the guy who fought against forty men at once. You're becoming an idol; Konohamaru and the others are bragging that they know you."

Nothing. No response. But she made another attempt.

"After all that fighting, you're probably hungry, right? Wanna get some ramen with me?"

Not a word. She felt like she was talking to herself. Maybe he didn't want to talk, but he hadn't told her to leave, nor had he gotten up to leave. He just sat there and leaned right back against her. But she was patient.

After a while, it got to the point where Suki didn't know whether she should try talking to him again or just leave. She decided to try one more time.

"Wow," she said, "I think you've set a new record for yourself as the longest amount of time you've gone without talking. Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

A single word; but it was something. She had to see if he could get more from him.

"Ah…you ruined it! You probably could have gone on longer, right?"

"I figured you must be bored waiting for me to say something. Sorry."

"You're damn right I was bored. You haven't said anything for like an hour! I was about to leave, you know!"

She nudged him with her elbow as payment for making her sit there all this time.

"Hey! I said I was sorry…" he complained.

"Well, now I can forgive you, Baka-kun."

"You know," he said, getting to his feet, "I really am hungry. You wanna come have some ramen with me?"

"Sure."

He helped her stand, and they were face to face.

"You know," she said softly, "I heard about what you said to Tsunade-sama about your parents, and I was there when Danzou said those things to you. Let me ask you something: is it true what he said about you?"

He didn't want to look at her, but he didn't have much of a choice. There she was, right in front of him, those eyes searching him so that he couldn't escape.

"Even if I try to deny it, I think I've always had those kinds of thoughts deep down inside. Mostly, I'm able to deal with it thanks everyone, but…sometimes I just can't help but wonder…Its all the kyuubi's fault, and he is a part of me. But, if not for the kyuubi, I wouldn't have even made it this far. I made it here on his strength alone. Without him, I would have lost to Neji, I would have lost to Gaara. I'm weak without the stupid fox, and that's what gets me the most, you know?"

Their eyes were locked, and Suki sighed before starting her response.

"That may be true. You might have lost to Gaara-sama. You might have lost to Neji-san. But you still might have won. You always tell people not to underestimate you, but you're doing it to yourself right now. And that doesn't even matter anyway, since it's already in the past, right? You beat Neji-san. You stopped Gaara-sama. They both changed their views on life because of you."

"I know you. When you speak, it's your words, not the kyuubi's. When you laugh, it's your laughter; and it's your eyes that always sparkle so passionately, not the kyuubi's. Your heart belongs to you and you alone, and that's what it is about you that has touched so many people."

"And even though I know that the kyuubi is a demon; even though I know he is the main source of your suffering and you despise everything about him, I can't help but feel thankful to him. Because of the nine-tailed fox, you are who you are. You would have never had the same experiences that you've had. You wouldn't have the same beliefs or the same personality. Everyone you've ever helped –Neji-san, Gaara-sama, everyone in Rakugosha- would never have gotten the chance to meet you."

"It is because of the kyuubi that you turned into the person that I love…"

There. She said it. She had no idea how or why, but she had just said it. More amazing, however, was her ability to keep on talking without stuttering or blushing at that look he was giving her now.

"Everyone who knows you knows that the kyuubi is not who you are, nor do they believe that you would be weak without it. I really can't understand why someone would hate you, or why you would hate yourself, because I love everything about you…"

She said it twice. This time, she stopped herself from talking and possibly saying it a third time. It had slipped through while she was talking from her heart, cheering him up and trying to make him understand why him hating a part of himself was so frustrating and didn't make sense to her at all.

She wished he would say something, but he just kept staring at her. If this went on any longer, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Baka!" she shouted, "don't you no anything? It's agonizing if you make a girl wait for your response!"

"S-sorry!" he apologized, "I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"N-no! Nothing!

"Tell me, damn it!" she pressed him.

"Do I really have to tell you?" he asked.

She saw him blushing, and it peaked her curiosity.

"Yes, you do."

"Well then, I…I was thinking that…I…um…was a coward because I waited too long and made the girl confess to me instead of the other way around," he finished his sentence quickly.

"Eh?" Suki hadn't caught every word he had just muttered, but she caught the general idea. The thing was, she had not been expecting this answer at all. He loved her. She was too happy to not smile.

"Now you're the one doing the staring, Suki," said Naruto, trying to laugh.

"Eh?" was the only thing she said.

"It's surprising to me, too, since I didn't think you felt to same…"

"Eh?" she repeated.

"Geez, you're going to force me to say it aren't you?"

"Eh?"

He sighed. "Suki…I…err…love you."

"Since when?"

"I dunno. Probably for a while, but I only realized it recently, so…"

That's all she was looking for. Once Naruto said that, Suki was satisfied.

"And you made me say it first, when you knew I thought you still loved Sakura!? That's not cool…" she whimpered.

"Sorry…"

They were still face to face. She stared at him; waiting. But all he did was stare back.

"Baka-kun! You don't know anything, do you? What the hell do you think you're supposed to do when two people confess to each other!?"

"Huh? Wha-…oh…" Naruto nervously scratched at his cheek after figuring it out.

"You're slow, baka…"

"Sorry. Well then…"

The very next moment, on that sunny day, standing out in front of the memorial stone, they kissed. Naruto hugged her close. At this moment, he couldn't stand to be even an inch away from Suki. He felt like if he let her go, he might wake up from this dream. Her silky hair was soft against his fingers, the skin of her cheek was light to the touch. And her lips…so moist and soft…felt like they were melting together with his.

Suki didn't know how many times she had thought about him this way, thinking that it would never happen. But it was, right here and now. His hands, so strong yet gentle, held wrapped around her and folded their two bodies together. She felt secure. She felt happy. This moment, what she was feeling, felt so right that she never wanted him to let go.

And for a short time, they lost themselves. That is, until the rumble of Naruto's stomach interrupted them. Laughing, they separated.

"Ichiraku?" Suki asked.

"Yup. Ichiraku."

-xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx- Chapter End –xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx- -xxx-

Heh, yeah. So with this out of the way, there's only one thing left to deal with…Itachi!!!!

I hope it wasn't too painful or excruciatingly corny…haha. I don't think I've ever been good at dealing with that stuff in writing…heh.


	48. A Little Rain Never Hurt Anyone

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Greetings! So well, I kinda jacked a little bit more from the manga regarding Paine (Pein/Pain), so you may be a little confused if you haven't read that far. Sorry for that… That's really all there is to say right now besides the customary thanks. Oh, when I said that there were 3-5 chapters left, I may have been one or two chapters off the mark/ Anyway, this whole chapter just kind of happens suddenly…

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The ramen at Ichiraku never disappointed, and the chef and his daughter gladly kept the bowls coming for their most faithful customer. The best part was that since he had fought so hard to protect the village, today's meal was on the house. Delicious, free ramen, There probably wasn't a better thing to be had in all the world.

Suki seemed to be eating contently as well, taking a sip from her green tea. But when she saw Naruto stop eating suddenly and look at her, she knew something was up.

"What?" she asked.

"I just wanted to tell you something…" he said.

"Go ahead."

"Well, um…just…I don't want you to think that you were my second choice. That is…with Sakura-chan. I didn't come to you because my first option was gone, so I had to settle for the next in line. I loved you as much as her; and now, even more…I was just worried that you might think that and…"

Naruto had been looking straight into her eyes, but as he trailed off, his eyes fell as they always did when he showed uncertainty and worry.

"Don't worry about it," Suki laughed, "you were my second choice too, so let's call it even!"

"Uh…what?" came Naruto.

As Suki explained herself, her eyes got bright and she held her hands together on her cheek. "I fell in love with Sasuke at first sight because he was so cool, but unfortunately he was taken by Sakura-san. Since he was gone, I was forced to move on to a baka like you. Too bad I couldn't have someone as cool and popular as Sasuke-"

"Oh, shut it…stupid…" Naruto cut her off, "I was being serious, you know…"

He grabbed his chopsticks angrily and shoved a whole mouthful of noodles down his throat. All Suki had to do was smile, and his bad-tempered face slowly softened into a small grin of his own.

"Oh! So that's how it is!" Ayame proclaimed excitedly, leaning towards them across the counter, "I knew it! You two are a couple!!"

The old chef butted in as well. "So, you've finally found yourself a girl, eh, Naruto? And she's quite a pretty one, too. Nice job. Now if only Ayame could find a decent man, I could leave the shop to them without any worries…"

"Father!" Ayame scolded, "You can't rush such things!"

"But if it's you, you shouldn't have any trouble getting dates, right, Ayame-nee-chan?" Naruto told her.

The ramen girl blushed a little as she waved off his comment.

"Ahaha! You shouldn't say such nice things to other girls when in the presence of your girlfriend, Naruto-kun!"

"I know, right?" Suki agreed with her, "honestly, this guy doesn't really know anything when it comes to that stuff!"

"Gimme a break here, you two!" he cried.

The two girls continued to pick on Naruto, and when he looked to the chef for help, the old man just laughed at him.

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Tsunade sat back and let out a long sigh of relief. The whole Danzou ordeal had finally been settled. She no longer had to worry about his underhanded scheming and corruption in the higher ranks of Konoha. The elders who had conspired with him were punished, and new council members would be elected to take their place. Overall, the damage to the political structure of the village was minimal.

During stressed times, she often felt the urge to drown it all away in a bottle, but she knew that in serious situations, keeping a clear head was the most important thing. But now that it was all over, it was safe to indulge herself in some sake. However, her small victory toast was cut short. Another messenger came bursting into her office: it seemed to be happening a lot lately…

"Tsunade-sama! I have an urgent report!"

"What is it?" the Hokage asked.

"A large group of shinobi from Amegakure has been spotted just beyond the borders of the fire country."

"What!?" Tsunade exploded. They had just averted disaster, and now a new threat was on its way. "How many? And for what purpose?"

"Our scouts report that their numbers are around ninety, though it is not known how many of them are of jounin level. They aren't moving as if to attack, but they are steadily moving forward right towards the Village. If they keep up their current pace, they'll be here just after nightfall. Other than that, we don't have any more information."

Tsunade listened carefully as the situation was explained to her. Before she responded, she downed the drink that she had poured herself. Ninety. Most villages had around thirty jounin, not counting their special operations forces, equivalent to Konoha's Anbu. If this was a full-fledged attack, the majority of them could be jounin. And in Konoha's current state, most of their fighters were going to be chuunin. Tsunade and the rest of Konoha had been so absorbed in what was going on with ROOTS that they let these Rain ninja come this far without being noticed.

"Send out the hawk. I need all my jounin on the roof, now," she ordered.

The ninja nodded and let immediately. Tsunade turned her chair to look out at the city. How could Amegakure's timing be so perfect? Right after Anbu's strength is cut nearly in half, a group of Rain ninja comes marching towards them. But why all of a sudden? As far as Tsunade knew, Konoha had done nothing to provoke an attack from the Rain. With many thoughts running through her head, she headed to the roof.

The jounin (and Jiraiya) of the village responded well to the signal. Within ten minutes they were all there; and she kept her eye on Naruto. He seemed to be back to his usual self, although he looked a little angry at something. Given the time of day, she had probably summoned him while he was in the middle of a meal, and now he was grumpy. He probably deserved a lot more rest, but she needed him now. When Akiko and Sasuke arrived, they too went to check up on him. His smile was all it took to assure them he was back to normal.

With all ears attentive and waiting, she began to fill them in on the situation. She watched as a particular person's face went from grouchy to anxious.

"We must assume that they are here to attack us," Tsunade told the jounin, "It goes without saying that we need to evacuate all citizens immediately in the event that a battle ensues here. It would be unwise to rush out to meet them because that would mean that we'd also have to keep some ninja here in the village as a precaution, therefore separating our forces. And as you all know, we're already short on personnel. It would be better if we made our stand behind the village walls."

The jounin nodded in agreement, and Tsunade continued.

"Listen up. We need to prepare for two situations: the first situation will be if the enemy uses all its strength as a single unit, focusing all of their attacks on one area, and the second is if they decide to split up and surround the village. In either event, I'm breaking you up into groups, with three four-man cells making up one group. There will be one jounin to three chuunin in these cells, and so three jounin and nine chuunin to a group. I will assign two medical support ninjas to each group. All genin will remain on standby; I don't want them involved unless it can't be avoided. Shizune will break you up into groups. Start the evacuation and round up the chuunin. We'll meet again in two hours."

She and Jiraiya went off by themselves to discuss the situation in depth with the council members. The jounin lined up for their group assignments. Naruto, Sasuke, Akiko, and Suki waited to see which group they would be assigned to. The first two stepped forward.

"Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun, you two will be in a group along with Akiko. Naruto-kun, you will lead chuunin Fugashi Yanagi, Umino Iruka, and Nara Shikamaru. Sasuke-kun, you will be in charge of Rock Lee, Kotetsu Izumo, and Akari Misako. The chuunin will be briefed on the situation and you can meet up with them when we all rendezvous back here in two hours."

"Eh? Iruka-sensei is going to be in my group?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Shizune questioned him.

"No, its just a little weird, is all. I've never actually worked with Iruka-sensei before…"

"Along with Shikamaru-kun, he is one of the chuunin being examined for a promotion. Your team should be a strong one."

Akiko and Suki stepped forward for their assignments after Naruto and Sasuke gave way.

"As you heard, Akiko will be with Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun. Suki will be in a group with Maito Gai and Sarutobi Asuma. Suki, you'll have Yamanaka Ino, Ten-ten, and Hyuuga Hinata. Akiko will have Inuzuka Kiba, Shinjuku Rieko, and Ishigen Kuro."

Akiko perked up at the last name that was called. It seemed familiar to her in some way…

_You can go rot in hell with him; that's where he belongs._

The words rang as her memory pinpointed the exact moment. That's right. Ishigen Kuro was the bastard she met at the dango shop, the one who had insulted Naruto.

"Shizune-senpai, I don't think putting me in the same group as Kuro is a good idea," she said.

Shizune could recognize that Akiko was being absolutely serious, so her reasons didn't really matter.

"I see. In that case, I can replace him with someone you're more familiar with: Akimichi Chouji."

"That'll be just fine. Thank you."

Akiko was satisfied with her team and let the next jounin behind her, Yamanaka Inoshi, receive his group assignment.

"How do you know that Kuro guy, Aki-chan?" Naruto asked her.

"I met up with him earlier. He said something very disrespectful to me," she said.

"Hmm…" Naruto pondered, "should I kick his ass?"

"No, its fine. Besides, if I ever hear him say it again, I'd like the pleasure of doing it myself."

For the next hour or so, they helped with the evacuation of the villagers into the many safe zones throughout Konoha. The genin were also rounded up and grouped with the non-combatants, but also acted as guards should any enemies make it to past the front lines. Konohamaru and his squad came to Naruto to complain, but he told them that if they wanted to help protect the village in situations like this then they should hurry up and become chuunin.

With everything happening so fast, Suki and Naruto thought it was best to delay their little announcement. There were other things to worry about right now.

With the city deserted and all ninja on high alert, the jounin and chuunin finally met. The medical squads were also there, with Sakura among them. Tsunade nad Jiraiya stood at the head as always, with Shizune standing further to the side of them.

"By now, you have all received information regarding your team assignments. Scouts from the Aburame clan have confirmed that the Rain ninja have split up into two separate forces. So we too must divide our ranks, right down the middle. Now, after I fill you in on the general plan of attack, you will need to get into your groups and come up with personal team tactics that will enable you to be the most effective."

It seemed that Tsunade and Jiraiya had thought of a good strategy together, and they filled everyone in down to the last detail. It sounded promising, and if all went well, the enemy wouldn't penetrate too far into the village. Of course, there were always unknown variables, and the shinobi of the Rain most likely had a plan of their own. Tsunade said that there were approximately ninety enemy ninja of unknown strength, so Konoha definitely had the advantage in numbers. However, with half of Anbu out of commission, if there were more Rain jounin than Leaf jounin, it might be an even fight.

After the briefing from the two Sannin, everyone was free to get together in their squads. Iruka found Naruto pretty quickly, and Shikamaru approached him right after that. The last member, Fushagi Yanagi, was an older man that Naruto recognized as one of the Academy staff. Together with Sasuke and Akiko's teams, which had more familiar faces than new ones, they got together and talked amongst themselves. There were twelve of them, and together with four other groups of twelve, they were to hold the area around the eastern wall. That came to forty-eight shinobi on both the western and eastern sections. And if their attackers had split their forces in half, that would mean that their numbers would be relatively similar. Tsunade had ordered her remaining Anbu to stay back, and she would dispatch them as the battle dragged on to areas which needed the most reinforcing.

The Aburame clan continued to use their insects as spies throughout the day to relay the exact location of the intruders to the Hokage. They were currently north of Konoha, separated into a group in the east and a group in the west, just as Tsunade had predicted. They were going to come at them from both sides. The ninja of the Leaf had ample time to prepare, and all they could do now was wait for the enemy to show.

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Kisame's laughter roared out underneath the darkening sky. His partner, Itachi, had planned this ahead of time. Always calculating, the Uchiha had really outdone himself this time. He had already anticipated that Danzou would not cause enough damage to Konoha, so he went out and did this! Kisame hadn't even known about it until now, and he had been by Itachi's side most of the time. This was just the distraction they needed. Both Sasuke and Naruto would be easy pickings while the rest of Konoha was fighting desperately to fend off its attackers. Since two Sannin were in the village, Jiraiya would probably do the fighting and Tsunade would focus on the medical side of things and give orders from behind the lines. Once the battle started and they knew where Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Naruto were, they could plan accordingly and avoid the Sannin while abducting the two boys.

"Why are we even letting those Rain guys try to negotiate with Tsunade? If they come to an agreement, then there won't even be any fighting!" argued Kisame.

"It won't do any harm. Tsunade will not agree to their terms. They already know that Konoha knows they're coming, so the element of a surprise attack has already faded." replied Itachi.

"What about the rings? With Kabuto dead, we don't know where they are…"

"You have yours, and I have mine. Those two alone will be enough."

The two of them watched from a distance as the small party of Rain ninja stood outside the Leaf Village gate, where they had requested an audience with the Hokage. She arrived sooner than expected with a small escort of Anbu and Jiraiya at her side. She didn't look very happy.

"What is the meaning of this sudden aggression from the Rain village?" she growled.

"Amegakure has suffered a great loss, Lady Hokage. The ninja of our proud village will not stand for this," the head ninja answered.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Tsunade told him.

"Then allow me to fill you in," said the man. "Our great leader Paine-sama is dead."

"Paine?" came Jiraiya, "he was the Rain's leader?"

"That's right. Paine-sama single-handedly overthrew the former government and its leader, the famed warrior Hanzou, who, if I remember correctly, the three of you Sannin fought to a standstill."

"Hanzou was defeated?" said Jiraiya, astounded.

"Yes," the Rain ninja replied, "It's not surprising that you guys didn't know; we of Ame like to keep things private. But Paine-sama was so powerful that he rose to the status of a god in our village. But then one day out of nowhere, he just disappeared. No one knew where he went, and his partner Konan, called god's angel, was nowhere to be found. We didn't know what to do. A little more than a week later, we heard a rumor that our beloved and all powerful Paine-sama had been defeated in a fluke at the hands of some fifteen-year-old brat from Konoha. There was no way we were going to believe that, but then evidence surfaced that proved those rumors to be true. We can't just let that stand. A teenaged boy from the Leaf took out the strongest ninja in Amegakure's history. If this ever gets out, the name of our village will be put to shame. The only way to confirm our strength as a great power is to crush the Leaf; the village that so easily killed our god leader. However, Lady Hokage, we're willing to strike a deal with you. If you hand the boy over to us, we'll gladly pack up our things and head back home."

"Oh? You're being awfully generous," said Tsunade, "If I hand over a meaningless little brat, we can all avoid bloodshed, right? How thoughtful of you to think of such a peaceful solution! Or is it that you're having second thoughts about this, hmm? This is a pretty rash course of action you're doing here. I don't know what could have possibly convinced you that this was a good idea. Even if you win here, you know you will suffer massive casualties and lose military strength. Suna will retaliate and wipe Amegakure off the map. I've already sent word to my dear friend the Kazekage. Anyway, I'll give you one last chance to leave the fire country. Otherwise, you'd better be prepared to face a total defeat."

"This was the only course of action to take. Eventually, the story will leak out to the rest of the world. A kid killed the so-called god of Amegakure. Our reputation will be dragged through the mud. We must take a stand for the honor of our great village. This is what we have decided. And if we fall here, then perhaps we were never worthy to be called one of the great ninja villages in the first place."

"I see," said Tsunade, shaking her head, "your unwavering resolve has been foolishly placed. Instead of working to re-establish the government in your village, you have chosen to attack us. Some of my ninja here will die for this stupid reason. Because of that, I will show you no mercy. This talk is over."

The Hokage and her entourage were gone, and the head ninja nodded to his men. They took off in either direction, going to send the news to the two groups. Only the ninja in charge of this operation remained, and he made his way back to Itachi's side.

"Signal the attack," Itachi ordered, "make those proud walls crumble under the might of the Hidden Rain Village."

"Yes, Itachi-sama."

The man left their side and returned to his men. Kisame laughed again.

"They're following your orders without question," he observed.

"Of course," said Itachi, "the hearts and minds of men are easily manipulated. They devoted themselves to Paine because they believed he was unbeatable, and they followed his every command. They adored and worshipped his power, and yet they feared it. When I went to their village, they were without leadership: sheep desperate for a shepherd to guide them. All it took was Tsukiyomi and Amaretsu to impress them. I told them I was a companion of Paine, and I was the one who told them of his demise. And of course, it was I who sparked their fire for battle and persuaded them to go through with this. They will follow me."

"You had it planned out before you and I even took down that Tobi guy, huh?" noted Kisame.

"Yes. Who do you think convinced Paine that it would be better to fight Naruto-kun using only one of his bodies?"

"Heh. Do you really think these chumps have a chance against Konoha?" Kisame asked.

"They will put up a decent fight, but no; most likely they will all die," was the cold answer.

"Haha! I'm glad we're on the same side!"

A red flare shot up in the east. That was the signal. The battle was about to start.


	49. Uchiha Story Time

Sorry, sorry. I know I'm already going to get an earful from someone for being really late, so my bad. I haven't been doijng just nothing, though. I wrote like the first two chapters of the story I'll be working on after this one.

Itachi is very talkative in this one. In fact, he doesn't shut up…

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All eyes, Leaf and Rain, gazed up as the object shot up into the sky. The flare rose quickly, leaving a trail of red smoke hanging in the air. It blended in well with the backdrop of the pink and orange clouds, delicately painted for the sunset. And everyone knew: this was the signal that would bring forth the attack.

There was death to be had on this day.

A certain person stood atop the great wall of Konoha, his pair of marble blue eyes watched the smoke as it climbed higher and higher. Naruto readied himself for what was about to take place.

He looked to his left; the polished eyes of Sasuke's sharingan scanned the area below for any signs of movement. He looked to his right; Akiko was still looking up at the sky, her bottomless eyes gaining a faint luster from the light of the flare. The groups of twelve had been spread out all across the wall, and theirs had been placed right here in the middle. The other teams had been placed on either side of them, with a thirty yard gap in between to cover the entirety of the eastern wall.

Finally, he looked over his shoulder. Suki was over on the west side. He and Akiko only had enough time to have a quick chat with her before they had to split up.

"_Just…be careful, okay?" he told her._

"_Me? Tell me something, Kiko: out of the three of us, who is the one who always gets the most injured?" asked Suki._

"_That would be Maki-san!" Akiko declared, slapping him on the back._

"_That's right. You've been so injured lately that me and Kiko have been crying our eyes out. If you go and get hurt badly again, we won't forgive you!"_

"_I'll be watching his back this time," said Akiko, "so you don't have to worry about this guy."_

_The way they were talking made Naruto seem completely useless. _

"_Well then, I'll see you two later, okay?" Suki turned away from them._

"_We'd better get going too, Maki-san." Akiko pulled his arm gently, and the three of them parted._

There was no reason to worry. She was a strong girl, that Suki, and Jiraiya was over on that side as well. What Naruto had to worry about right now was the safety of his own team: Shikamaru, Iruka, and Yanagi. He was going to protect them no matter the cost.

Each of the jounin had been equipped with a short range device that would allow the different groups to communicate with one another. It was Neji's voice that filled the earpiece.

"They're coming: one hundred meters and closing fast. It looks like they've broken up into several groups and will proceed by attacking multiple positions in our defense at the same time."

And then, they came into view: Rain ninja running out from the cover of the surrounding forest. Naruto gripped his kunai tightly. It was time to fight.

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As expected, the volleys of shuriken came at them the moment they left the forest and ran out into the open; the fifty or so meters from the edge of the trees to the high, sturdy ramparts of Konoha. They could see the lines of defenders perched above them.

Itachi's orders were clear. First, they had to find the target.

The task was easier than they had expected: the unbelievable number of shadow clones confirmed his position on the eastern wall. Konoha's strategy was to force Amegakure to fight through wave after wave of clones before they even had the chance to fight any real people. But Itachi had equipped them with something that could overcome this dilemma.

Each Rain ninja pulled out a special tag that Itachi had given them. According to him, all they had to do was attach one of these little scrolls to any part of the boy's body, and the entire shadow clone army would disappear. No one really knew which one of their forty-three comrades had managed to do it, but after only a few moments of skirmish with the clones, they all wisped away, leaving the front lines of the enemy exposed.

The first phase of Itachi's plan was complete, and the second phase was about to begin: isolate the target's group from the rest of the defending ninja and focus the brunt of the attack on that group.

This task was also quite easily performed. When the target group was found, all Rain ninja swooped in to trap them within the perimeter of their offensive formations. No one was going to be able to get through without a fight, and by that time, the group led by the little brat that killed Paine would be long gone. According to Itachi, once this group was eliminated, the entire eastern wall was as good as theirs; and from there, they would press forward to attack the western wall from behind.

Even without the shadow clone kid, who had collapsed, the target group was still pretty strong. Keeping their positions, they weren't going to be taken out easily. There were two ninja with katanas, a young man and a short girl, who were very strong. Most likely, those were the jounin. And there were four or five others who were decent as well. But slowly, as the attacks kept on coming, their positions fell apart, they began to spread out, and their fatigue set in.

It was at that moment when Itachi, along with Kisame, appeared amongst them. The Rain ninja cheered for the Uchiha, who had come to lead them to their ultimate victory. With him at their side, there was no chance for Konoha.

The two Leaf jounin panicked at the sight of the Itachi and Kisame. The girl tried to stand between the Uzumaki kid and Kisame, but more Rain ninja moved in to block her path. Kisame laughed as he knelt down to sling the unconscious ninja over his shoulder. Itachi, on the other hand, seemed to be talking with the young, dark-haired man. He put up a little fight when Itachi moved closer, but as soon as Itachi laid one finger on him, they both vanished. Seeing that his partner escaped with no trouble, Kisame, too, used his jutsu to leave the scene.

Ninja of the Rain stopped to ponder in confusion. They thought that Itachi had come to fight with them, but he only stayed for mere seconds before he left. The circle they had formed to isolate the target group was now collapsing on all sides. Konoha was rallying. Itachi's god-like abilities were supposed to carry them through to victory. But Itachi was not here; he was gone. Instead of fighting on the front lines and helping his people win, he had abandoned them.

Surrounded by the enemy, stranded in a sea of blood, the shinobi of the Rain were left to themselves as the battle raged on.

-xxx-

It had all happened so quickly. One minute, he was making hand signs for his jutsu, and the next, the two men in black clothing appeared. At first, he had been so stunned to see them that his body stopped moving. It was in that moment that Sasuke finally realized that Itachi was the one behind everything.

By instinct, he knew he had to stand between them and Naruto. Akiko tried to do the same, but she had been blocked out. When Sasuke tried to keep Kisame away, his brother attacked him. But Itachi knew that it would be dangerous for him to linger in the battle for too long, so he used some sort of jutsu to get them both out of there the moment they touched. There was no telling just how far they had moved away from the battlefield.

Sasuke didn't recognize this place. It was a cove-like formation of rocks, with caves dotted all over the cliff side. Itachi stood off about ten feet in front of him. Kisame, carrying Naruto, was beside him.

"Is that hate I see in your eyes, little brother?" taunted Itachi, "I thought you gave up on that."

"So…it was you the whole time. What the hell did you do to Naruto?" Sasuke growled.

"Naruto-kun? I simply devised a way to render him completely harmless. You see, when shadow clones are destroyed, the information that the replication received goes back to the user. Using that fact as a foundation, I created the single best strategy to fight him."

The elder brother held up a small parchment. The symbol that was drawn there matched the large symbol that had been written on Naruto's chest.

"It can be placed anywhere on a kage bunshin's body. The destruction of the clone triggers its effect, and the jutsu is automatically transferred back to the original body. It took a little while to perfect, but as you can see, it is quite effective."

Sasuke loathed the cleverness of his brother. He had come up with a way to defeat Naruto without even having to touch his real body. But that still left one question unanswered. They had Naruto. Why did they drag Sasuke along?

Itachi seemed to read his brother's thoughts.

"You've read what happens to those who awaken the mangekyou sharingan."

"They eventually go blind," was the straight answer.

"Correct. The techniques one can produce with the mangekyou are so powerful that it puts an intense strain on the eyes. Using them too much results in the loss of vision. To an Uchiha, that is a most devastating loss."

"If you're blind, you can't read and copy jutsu, and you can't use any of the sharingan's genjustu. The entire kekkei genkai is ruined if the user can't see," Sasuke remarked.

"Right again. It was all written down on those documents hidden under our family's temple. But even those secret writings were incomplete. Many of the older scrolls were destroyed decades ago."

"If that's true, then how do you know about them?" asked Sasuke.

"I was told everything," said Itachi, "by the man who burned them: Uchiha Madara."

Madara: the founder of the Uchiha clan. How could Itachi have possibly met someone who died when the village was still young?

"I see you have many questions; you have realized your own ignorance. Very well, then. As your gift of parting from this world, I will allow you this one revelation before you die."

Sasuke was in no position to argue. He was confident in his abilities as a ninja, but not confident enough to fight both Kisame and Itachi at the same time. With nothing else to do, Sasuke was forced to listen.

"Some of this you already know, but I'll have to re-tell it so that the other parts fit into place. I'll start by asking you this: how did the bijuu come into existence?"

"No one really knows," answered Sasuke. "Some people believe that they are creatures from another dimension. Others believe that the bijuu are natural occurrences; as natural as a tornado or a rainstorm, though much more rare."

"There are many theories," agreed Itachi, "all of them false. The truth is that the bijuu were created a man."

A man? Who would be powerful enough to create such beings? Who could ever want to?

"The world knows him as the Sage of the Six Paths, the creator of ninjutsu itself. They were mere accidents that occurred while he was experimenting with powerful techniques, testing how far he could push the boundaries of nature. The techniques of a shinobi, at the very core of the Sage's intents, were tools of destruction. As such, the conscious that formed due to his techniques gone awry were bent on that single purpose."

As much as he hated Itachi's voice, he was still interested, and every second that went by that he wasn't attacking Sasuke and killing Naruto was a good one.

"The Sage, recognizing that even he would never be able to kill such beings, was able to defeat the monstrosities he created by locking them in space and time, essentially trapping them in another dimension."

If Sasuke hadn't known the abilities of his own sharingan, he probably would have told Itachi that his story was bullshit. But the sharingan was so complex, and the Sage of the Six Paths was probably much more powerful than any Kage in any village past or present, considering he was the man to bring ninjutsu into existence. It was plausible that he could use jutsu that matched the sharingan's. So far, this history lesson wasn't too farfetched.

And Itachi continued.

"Now, the Sage created ninjutsu, but once other people grasped how it worked and began experimenting, they too created their own unique jutsu. While none were as wholesomely gifted as the Sage, there were many ninja who would prove to be his equal in a particular area. For example, Uchiha Madara, generally considered the strongest of our clan, was probably the Sage's equal in both space/time ninjutsu, as well as genjutsu. Although the Sage had trapped the bijuu away, there was a way to summon them back into this world. If the exact conditions under which they were created were once again replicated by experimenting humans, the bijuu would reappear. With ninjutsu in its infant stages and the clans -struggling for dominance- pushing the limits of their jutsu, there were many sightings of the bijuu.

I'll get back to that in a minute. Right now, let's discuss the emergence of the bloodline limits. Genetic anomalies began to arise in certain individuals, and were inevitably passed down from generation to generation; that was the kekkei genkai. These clans stood out among regular ninjutsu users as superior.

But even among the clans that held such bloodlines, two of them eventually emerged as exceptionally gifted. They were the recently awakened Uchiha clan, headed by Madara, and the much older clan of the forest, who's most famous and strongest leader was none other than Shodaime Hokage. The Forest Clan gained fame for its leader's ability to quell the rampaging bijuu wherever they appeared, and thus gained many allies. Along with their unique Mokuton techniques, the Forest Clan was truly powerful. On the other hand, our clan was also feared. We gained infamy not just because of the sharingan, but with Madara's ability to summon the most powerful of the bijuu: the kyuubi. Apparently, the kyuubi emerged when the Sage was experimenting with space/time jutsu, and so, our clan's founder was able to summon him. Not only that, but because of the powers Madara gained from the Mangekyou sharingan, he was able to control the kyuubi; to command it. Many other clans fell to the Uchiha, and many of them turned to the Forest Clan for help.

From there, every Leaf Villager knows that Madara and Shodaime fought at the Valley of the End, with the first Hokage emerging as the victor, Madara disappearing, and the Uchiha clan submitting to the power of the Forest Clan. But let me tell you something about Madara: he was obsessed with power. He killed his best friend in order to gain the Mangekyou sharingan, and he killed his younger brother in order to keep his eyesight from fading."

It was at that point that Sasuke interrupted.

"So that's why you kept me alive. You needed me to develop my sharingan to the same point as yours. But…I don't have the mangekyou…"

"You don't need it. After I steal your eyes, I will kill Naruto-kun. Because the eyes were originally yours, the death of your best friend will trigger it them to awaken. Madara's brother did not have the Mangekyou. But this method also worked for him. After his defeat, he went into hiding, driven by the goal to become stronger and to destroy the newly founded Leaf Village. His actions from there on out are unknown. But then, fifteen years ago, he unleashed the kyuubi on Konoha. It had already been discovered by others that one could seal a bijuu into a human, and the human could be used as a weapon of the village that had trapped it. But more than that, it negated the bijuu's ability to be re-summoned. With his greatest weapon sealed within our friend Naruto-kun here, Madara was once again forced to retreat. Once again, his actions are unknown except for the fact that he made the rings of Akatsuki during that time. He showed his face about six years later, when he appeared before me.

He was enraged that his clan had bent to the will of the Forest Clan and was a prominent family in Konohagakure. He wanted them to pay, but he also did not wish to exterminate his own clan. So he singled me out because I showed much potential at such a young age. At that time, I too was bored of the Uchiha clan. Being a prodigy, I was known as the pride of the Uchiha. They were just a bunch of weaklings trying to cling onto me. The others just fed off of my success. And what did I ever get? Praise. Status within our pathetic family. I couldn't care less about such things. Madara offered me power; he offered me so much more than just a simple 'I'm proud of you, son.' And so, we slaughtered the clan."

Sasuke's fists tightened. He was finally learning the reason why his family had been killed; why his life had been spared. Itachi had no idea how hard Sasuke had worked to get any praise from their father, or any acknowledgment at all. Itachi had hogged it all, and it was meaningless.

"Madara founded Akatsuki. We gathered nine of the strongest shinobi who would join us; a number equal to the amount of bijuu. While he was away, he had been researching many things. When the Sage of the Six Paths first trapped the bijuu, he sent them all into the same dimension. There, a little bit of each of their charkas were merged together and created something entirely new: a tenth bijuu. Made from the energies of the other nine, this was the embodiment of all rage. Because it was not created in our world, it could not escape its prison by the same means that the others did. So Madara tried to find many ways of channeling its energy. One of them was the Demon Soul technique you went out of your way to learn.

After years of searching, he theorized that if he recreated the circumstances under which the tenth bijuu was created, it would be able to pass into our dimension. Basically, his plan was to gather all bijuu into one place and unleash the tenth bijuu onto this world. And with the other nine bijuu his to use as he wished, no other power would ever be able to oppose him. Well, that was his plan, until Kisame and I killed him.

There was no telling that the tenth bijuu could be controlled if it were summoned here. There's no fun in ruling over a world where everyone is dead. So I killed him, and I let those loyal to him die, as well. Of course, I do have Naruto-kun to thank for that. Paine, as the inheritor of the Rinnengan, was probably stronger than Madara. But, being amazed by our ancestor's intellect, he pledged his servitude to Madara's cause. With that irritating Kabuto interfering, Kisame and I lost many of the rings. See, the rings house the bijuu that we extract. I don't really know how Madara pulled it off, but once the rings are active, we will be able to summon them and call them back as we please. My sharingan will never be as developed as Madara, who had over 100 years to perfect it. But with this, I too will have the power to call forth the kyuubi, and Kisame's ring houses the eight-tailed bijuu. Even if we do not find the others, those two will be enough. If they are found by someone else, they won't know how to use them. All the Villages will bow to our feet."

That was it. Both Sasuke and Naruto were just pawns in some grand scheme by Itachi to gain ultimate power. Their whole lives had been lived out to Itachi's liking. Itachi knew that Sasuke would go after revenge and therefore develop his sharingan to the fullest of his abilities. It was all so that he could steal them. And Naruto was just a guy who had what Itachi wanted. Both of them: just objects for Itachi to claim.

He didn't care whether the story was true or not. He didn't care about what had happened 100 years ago. What he cared about was that Itachi had finished his speech, and now that the talking was done, there was going to be fighting.

-xxx-

Naruto's eyes opened to a familiar river of black. The huge, sturdy pillars of the fox's prison stood before him. The presence of the demon surged forward, gusting forth with a sudden wind. Immense red: that was the only thing that could describe the being that lurked just beyond the gate.

**You're wondering how you got here.**

The deep voice bellowed.

**Looks like you were knocked unconscious again. Such a pitiful man you are. But you could be so much more if you just let me out…**

The red chakra stretched out towards him, reaching for him; drawing him closer to the cage.

Naruto tried to remember the last thing he saw. Rain ninja. One second, all of his clones were fighting, and the next, he felt his insides churn and he was unable to stand. What the hell happened?

The kyuubi answered for him.

**Some kind of justu. I can feel it restraining your chakra and preventing you from waking.**

"How can you tell?" Naruto asked.

**We share this body. Some of my chakra is always mixed in with yours. I can feel a disturbance in the flow of your chakra. And I know because whenever your chakra is exhausted, it allows me to have more freedom in this cursed prison…**

Damn. He no longer knew what was happening in the village. What if his friends needed him?

**You want to wake up, right? Let me out. The surge of my overwhelming chakra should be enough to escape the jutsu and let this body regain consciousness.**

Naruto hated to admit it. He really, really hated to admit it. But there was no other way that he saw to awake from this forced sleep. Here he was, relying yet again on the power of this evil thing.

But if he awoke with the fox in control, he might just cause even more problems for everyone else.

"My friends have faith in me," he said, "and I have faith in them. If I let you go running around, you might end up killing more of them than the Rain ninja."

**Don't act all noble and innocent, you brat! Why do you think you're standing here!? Your subconscious summoned you here. Even though you won't admit it, you brought yourself to me; I did not drag you here. Every time you have appeared to me, it has been of your own free will. I had nothing to do with it!**

It was true. Whenever things got desperate, his mind would automatically bring him here. It was the desperation and the need for strength that transported him here. He didn't like the truth.

**Can you really do it? Can you just stay here and do nothing? Can you run the risk that when you wake up, your village and its people will be gone? Can you live with the regret that you could have saved them, if only you had let me out?**

Fuck. This bastard was toying with his mind, trying to coax Naruto into setting him free. And it was working. It was working very well.

He found himself hating his own arm for reaching out to embrace the light. It engulfed him. It entered him. It filled him…with rage. And the demonic laughter conquered his every thought.

But at the last second, he tore away. There was no way he was going to lose to this bastard fox. That's right. He had already made the decision to believe in his own power; his own determination and desires.

**What!? What are you doing?**

"Waking up. If a massive flow of chakra can break this stupid technique, then I'll just make one myself!"

**Don't be foolish, you litt-**

Naruto concentrated his chakra. The surge of blue came with such force that it forced the kyuubi's red chakra back into its cell. Naruto took that power and channeled it. It exploded everywhere, it filled his body and mind. Everything was blue; as blue as the sky, as blue as the ocean, as blue as anything he could have imagined.

Heads turned as Naruto stood, his whole body burning with chakra. Kisame, the nearest to him, tried to control him. The shark was blasted off his feet by the sheer volume of Naruto's raging chakra. Frowning, he looked to Itachi for an explanation.

Itachi applauded.

"Naruto-kun, I didn't think were would be capable of overpowering my jutsu. Very impressive. Although, this does pose a bit of a problem."

Naruto ignored him. Getting his chakra under control, he jumped back to stand next to Sasuke.

"What the hell is going on, Sasuke?" he asked, keeping one eye on Itachi, "how did we even get here? What happened to the Village?"

"We've got our own problems to worry about right now, Naruto," Sasuke replied, pointing to the only two remaining Akatsuki members, "we have to deal with these guys."

"I don't quite get what's going on, but I guess you're right. I take it I'm fighting the ugly one, then?" asked Naruto, staring down Kisame.

"No," grinned Sasuke, "I know you have some history with him as well, but if you don't mind, I'm the one who'll fight Itachi."

"Heh…funny. Well, no complaints here. I've always hated this stupid-looking fish guy, anyway."

At the comment, Kisame bared his teeth.

"My, my…confident, are we?" Itachi remarked, "Well then, Sasuke, Naruto-kun, if you think you can take us, then come."

With a quick glance to each other and a nod of good luck, Naruto and Sasuke were happy to oblige.


	50. It's Just a Paper Cut

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening! (depending on when you read this). Guess what? FINALS ARE DONE!! Yeah, I had 'em all this week but as of right now, I am a free man…until fall semester. Yup, it looks like I'm prolonging things a bit more, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. We're lookin at two more chapters, three at the most.

This chapter mostly features Naruto's fight with Kisame.

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Akiko remained as calm as she could. Her team was surrounded, some of her chuunin were heavily injured, and Naruto and Sasuke were off somewhere with Itachi and Kisame.

She was calm.

"Hang in there, Akiko-san," Neji's voice rung in her earpiece, "we've almost broken through!"

Akiko didn't have time to reply. A swordsman rushed at her. She stabbed at him with her own katana, but the Rain ninja blocked. But with her abilities, Akiko's blade simply bended around the man's defense and pierced his chest. Another enemy appeared, hoping to catch her while her katana was still lodged in the other man's body. With her free hand, she took the dead guy's sword and used the same technique. The attacker thought he had dodged her thrust, but didn't expect it to curl back in his direction. He was impaled in the back, with the tip of the sword protruding from his chest.

"A sword that can bend like that…it's pretty hard to defend, especially if the enemy doesn't know what's coming," Shikamaru appeared at her side.

With the absence of the other two jounin in their group, Akiko had been forced to give Shikamaru a temporary promotion to help her control the pace of the battle. Rock Lee, Kiba, and Chouji were under his command, but his fourth chuunin, Yanagi, had been brutally burned by a fire technique.

Along with Akiko's group of chuunin, they fought back to back so that the Rain ninja couldn't attack them from behind.

"How's your chakra looking?" she asked him.

"Not good. Kiba is low too, and Chouji has just about had it. Lee still has that crazy stamina of his, though."

"Okay. You probably figured this out, but we won't last much longer here. Neji and his group are the closest to us, directly to the north. But if we wait for him, we might not make it.Our only chance is to fight our way to him and meet them halfway. We need to form an arrowhead formation; people with the most remaining chakra need to be on the outside. Tell your guys and rally back here in a bit."

Once she was done explaining, she immediately ran to Iruka's aid. He was having trouble with a double team. Shikamaru returned to the battle as well, staying with his strategy to hold down as many people as he could, preventing them from joining the battle while Lee and the others continued to fight.

"Neji," Akiko said into the microphone, "how far away are you?"

"We got pushed back pretty far when they isolated your group. We're closing in, but we're being held up right now," was the reply.

"How many enemies between us?" she asked.

There was a delay in Neji's response; most likely because he had his hands full.

"As you know, there are several teams of five men or more that are positioned all around you. They've been taking turns and rotating their attacks on your group. However, there are only two groups standing directly between our two locations: a group of six, and the group that we are currently engaged with."

That Neji guy was something else. He was monitoring the battle as far as he could see with his byakugan. How was he able to maintain focus on so many things at one time while he himself was fighting?

Shikamaru was back, along with the others. Sticking to the plan, they formed a triangle. Those with the most chakra lined up in front to protect the people who were almost out of chakra. The three injured had to be carried.

Akiko stood at the very head.

"We'll run right at them and plow forward. Don't stop for anything," she told them.

She gave the signal. As a single unit, they charged forward, straight into a crowd of hostiles.

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Naruto was presented with a major obstacle. Kisame had in his possession some of those troublesome paper seals that had been used to put Naruto out earlier. If he got caught with one of those, Itachi and Kisame would be able to gang up on Sasuke until Naruto broke out of it, which might take some time.

But there was one thing that Naruto noticed. His opponent hadn't tried to put it on his real body. Either he was incredibly stupid, or it actually only worked when on a shadow clone that was infected with the jutsu and then transferred it to him. If this was the case, then Naruto was forced to not utilize all of his distractions like he was used to. He was going to have to bust out some Rock Lee style fighting. The problem was that his taijutsu wasn't as technical as that guy with thick eyebrows. Would he be able to win? They were about to find out.

Things were about to get very interesting.

The black robed shark swung his sword as Naruto jumped at him, missing with a kick that was aimed at Kisame's head. He had to pull off an airborne flip to dodge Samehada, and when he landed he dodged again by ducking under the massive sword. He sprang up with an uppercut that missed as Kisame jumped backwards, and the mid air spinning kick that followed was blocked by the sword. Naruto tried to follow it up with an overhand punch while he was still in the air, but Kisame shoved him off with his sword and created some distance for his next jutsu. Since there was no water here in this rocky place, he decided that he'd fill the entire battlefield with it. Out of the water emerged five water clones, and all of them charged at Naruto.

Five shuriken forced the clones to spread out so it would be easier for Naruto to take them on one by one. However, his attack on the first water clone was parried, and he was forced to back off when two more came to its aid. The remaining two appeared behind Naruto, who quickly slipped a kunai into each hand, which he stabbed into the grooves of the jagged swords to fend them off. The kunai had been previously wrapped with a controlled explosive, which Naruto set off once he was clear of the blast.

Kisame stayed back, looking for his chance to land the ending blow. As his three water clones chased Naruto down, he saw the opportunity he was looking for. The kid managed to destroy one more clone, but the other two seized his arms. Kisame locked on and flew in like a bullet. His sword shaved the entire front side with one, sweeping stroke. The clones punched him down into the water, and trails of red floated to the surface as the boy sunk.

-xxx-

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

"Don't worry. He's not dead. We still need him, remember?" Itachi called.

They both watched as Naruto's bloody body was dragged back to the surface by Kisame's two clones. But then, a great toad leapt out of the water to their left, and its tongue darted out to destroy the two clones. Naruto, who had been limp just a second before, landed on his feet smoothly.

"As you can see, he's still ale to defend himself. But I suggest that you keep your eyes on your opponent, little brother."

Itachi came at him, and Sasuke drew his katana and slashed his brother right down the middle. The body scattered and the pieces turned into ravens that flied off in every direction. So Itachi wanted to play the genjutsu game.

The ravens turned into copies of Itachi, and they landed all around Sasuke, surrounding him. Sasuke's fireball jutsu scorched them all, and only burning black feathers remained, falling around him as he scanned for Itachi's location. He didn't find it in time. Itachi's sword ran straight through Sasuke's back. But his body broke down into a pile of squirming snakes. Instead of waiting for Sasuke to make the next move, Itachi took it upon himself. It was time to use Tsukiyomi.

The scenery changed. Itachi took them back to the place where this blood feud had originally started on that dark night many years ago, in the bedroom of their mother and father. Sasuke was a young child once again, standing before his towering brother. Their mother and their father laid in a pool of their own blood on the floor, with the most horrid expressions imaginable imprinted on their faces for eternity.

Sasuke had no control; it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. This scene…it was exactly how he remembered it. The feat felt so real; the helplessness and the confusion. He was struggling now, trying to unravel the ultimate genjutsu that the Mangekyou granted his brother. Itachi walked towards him slowly, his footsteps pounding the floor and Sasuke's heartbeat sounded in perfect synchronization. His older brother drew his sword back and thrust it forward, impaling him right through the middle of his chest. Sasuke cried out with a silent scream, and his body curled up in pain. Itachi pulled his sword back and impaled him again; over and over and over.

If this kept up, Sasuke was going to die in this illusion. But trying to keep his focus as his brother stabbed him repeatedly was not an easy task. Itachi was staring down with cold eyes, the same ones that Sasuke remembered all his life. Staring right back into those eyes, he strained his body, his mid, and the abilities of his sharingan in a last attempt to break Tsukiyomi.

It snapped. The world that surrounded them was sucked away, and Sasuke found himself back under the cloak of the darkening sky. Both he and Itachi were in their original positions; neither of them had moved a muscle.

Itachi grabbed for his left eye as a thin stream of blood leaked from it. Sasuke's hands clutched his chest in pain, full of injuries that could not be seen or touched.

"Not bad. You dispelled Tsukiyomi. Nevertheless, the damage was done." Itachi seemed as calm as ever.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke said back, "We're just getting started!"

-xxx-

Naruto would be a liar if he said that his huge wound didn't hurt. The entire front of his cloak and shirt had been shredded to bits, and the flesh from his upper abdomen to his face had been deeply skinned. The left side of his cheek had been cut wide open, and his lip was opened up pretty badly, too. Looking at his reflection in the water, Naruto thought that he looked like one of those zombies from horror stories. Pieces of skin were dangling everywhere; it wasn't an attractive sight.

"Son of a bitch…" he cursed, "And I told Suki I wouldn't get injured. I almost hope you kill me, shark guy, 'cuz she's gonna be mad…"

"Hey, brat, my name isn't 'shark guy,' it's Kisame. Remember it."

"It makes no difference. In the end, you'll just be some other guy that Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf Village took down."

Kisame's next attack was a huge wall of water. A summoned toad was sitting directly to Naruto's right. He jumped onto it and ran away from the monstrous mountain that was crashing down behind them. With the help of a shadow clone, Naruto used the Odama Rasengan to shoot through to the other side of the wall unharmed, though he immediately dismissed the kage bunshin. Naruto separated with his toad as he went left and the toad went right. He let the amphibian go ahead of him, and Kisame's focus switched to the toad. Now was the only chance Naruto had. While Kisame's eyes were diverted, he had to pull a fast one. Using the blood already dripping from his body, he summoned another toad, Gamakichi.

"My god!" said the toad when he saw Naruto, "what happened to you, squirt?"

"Shut up and transform into me!" Naruto commanded.

Toads weren't good at transformation, so Naruto had learned how to transform them himself. He also knew how to multiply other objects besides himself. It was those two abilities that would bring him victory.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

After shrugging off the toad, Kisame turned to see three clones of Naruto. What a dumb kid. In desperation, he had turned to the move which would be the end of him. The three bloody Narutos formed a triangle to trap him, far enough to be out of range but close enough to be able to stop him should he start to form hand signs.

"Shadow clones, huh? Do I have to remind you that using those is dangerous?" he laughed.

"You have a one in three chance that the 'me' you attach that paper to will be the real one. I won't be destroyed in one hit, and by the time you realize your mistake, one of my clones will have you."

Kisame grinned. "So basically, you're gambling."

"Yeah, I guess I am. The Old Lady would be proud, don't you think?"

"Bring it on," Kisame beckoned and readied his sword.

Instead of waiting for them to come to him, Kisame singled out one of the clones and attacked him. The clone's punch was easily caught, and he attached the paper to it's arm. In a fluid motion he moved behind the clone and an elbow to the back of the neck made it disappear.

Heh. The kid's gamble didn't work. Kisame had successfully chosen a shadow clone, and now Itachi's jutsu was about to take affect and-

The man's thoughts stopped as pain ran through his body. He didn't see what had hit him, but he had experienced it before. His body spun as he was forced backwards, and he landed in the water.

What the hell had just happened? Kisame was sure he had properly attached the paper and destroyed the clone like he was supposed to. Why hadn't the jutsu worked? Mustering whatever strength he had left, hemade two water clones that swam him back to the surface. What greeted him when he emerged from the water was a grinning brat.

"What the hell did you do?"

If the kid was smart, he probably wouldn't have told him so that he could use the technique again and keep Kisame guessing. But Naruto liked to brag. The brat undid the jutsus that he had in affect. One of the Narutos turned back into a small toad.

"When you were busy with that bigger toad, I summoned Gamakichi here and made a clone of him. Then I used transformation to make them both look like me, and I shouted 'kage bunshin no jutsu' to throw you off. You automatically thought that these two guys were shadow clones, but they were Gamakichi in henge. The one you destroyed was Gamakichi's clone. You already thought you won, so you didn't even bother looking back to see what happened to me."

"Don't underestimate this guy," called the toad, sticking his tongue out, "he's pretty good. Didn't you notice? You destroyed that clone of me so easily because I'm not used to walking around on two feet. I was totally unbalanced!"

His body could barely move, thanks to the rasengan. Kisame wouldn't be able to do anything. Damn this kid. If Kisame was able to go all out and not worry that he would kill the nine-tailed brat, then he would've killed him for sure. Now, the only weapons he had left were water clones. He made two more and sent them in after Naruto.

"Still fighting until the end, huh? But since your body can't move, I've got a great finishing move for you!"

Before the clones reached him, Naruto gathered up his chakra and summoned the biggest toad of all, Gamabunta. After a quick whisper from his summoner, the huge toad leapt high into the air, away from the pursuing clones. Kisame could only watch as the gigantic toad came positioned himself directly over him as he fell.

"Get your asses back over here and move me!" he called to his clones.

The shadow of the boss toad grew wider around him as the moment of impact grew near.

"Hurry!"

It was too late. They weren't going to make it. This was it. What a strange feeling it was, knowing that he was about to be crushed by a huge ass frog. Kisame had lost; he couldn't believe this was how he was going to die.

"OHHHH SHI-"

His last words went unfinished as Gamabunta landed with a brilliant splash. Water exploded everywhere, sending huge waves in all directions.

"Wasn't that overdoing it a bit, kid?" Gamabunta's booming voice came from underneath Naruto.

"That bastard deserved it. And besides, it's funny as hell."

Already the water was vanishing; the ninja maintaining the suition jutsu was no longer alive.

"Anyway, get yourself some medical attention, squirt. You look like you're about to die, you know," said Gamakichi, hopping beside him.

"Do you need me to take you back to the Village?" asked Gamabunta.

"No, I can't leave yet. Besides, I don't even know where we are," admitted Naruto.

"I do. Konoha is just south of here, just so you know," the toad's deep voice sounded, the smoke from his pipe rising into the sky.

"South, huh? Thanks Frog Boss, that helps a lot!"

Naruto jumped down onto Bunta's tongue, which extended to the ground.

"Well then, if we're not needed anymore, we're going. And by the way, I'm not a frog, I'm a toad!"

With that, the two toads were gone, vanishing in the same manner that shadow clones did.

Naruto's attention turned to the two brothers who were throwing fire jutsu at each other at the top of the cliff side. He wanted to help, but some of his wounds were still bleeding. If he didn't stop them soon, he was going to be in real danger.

-xxx-

"Looks like Naruto-kun finished off Kisame," noted Itachi.

"Aren't you going to run?" asked Sasuke, "he's probably on his way up to lend me a hand."

"Beating Kisame is no small feat. If he does come up here to fight, he'll be exhausted and probably just get in your way," the older Uchiha said confidently.

"We'll see."

With the short stall in their fight over, they went at each other again. Throughout the entire fight, Sasuke had been holding his own. But as he expected, Itachi was hands down the toughest opponent he had ever faced. His attack combinations and transitions from taijutsu to ninjutsu to genjutsu were perfect and timed so precisely that Sasuke could barely keep up.

Both of them knew, however, that the fight was almost at an end. The damage Sasuke had suffered from Tsukiyomi was massive, and the strain that Itachi put his body through just to use that technique was beginning to weigh him down. This fight between two brothers that had been burning for so long was going to be decided in the next few minutes.


	51. Fight's End

Hey. Sorry it took so long getting this chapter out (especially when I said I'd get it out sooner): I was in Florida on vacation and writing this story was the last thing on my mind. I did jot most of it down on the plane, though, since I really didn't have anything else to do. This is the last fight scene!!

Well, two more chapters should do it: a wrap up chapter and a ten years later sort of thing. Both should be relatively short. Then we'll be done!!

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The Rain ninja attacking the western wall were forced into a full retreat. The strength of Konoha's defense was just too strong to break, and with the Toad Sage Jiraiya taking out one person after another, the shinobi from Amegakure began to feel like the battle was hopeless. Wave after wave of their attacks were cut down, and they grew to lack the strength of numbers to mount an assault and the confidence that their attacks would work.

And so they ran, back into the cover of the forest from which they came, leaving their wounded and dead behind.

"Do we follow them?" asked one of the jounin into the earpieces of his comrades.

"No," said Jiraiya, "It wouldn't do any good since we're just as worn out as they are. Hold your positions."

The medical units moved in quickly once the area had been cleared of enemies. The injured were tended to, and those who had given their lives in the defense of their village were carried honorably from the field of battle. Jiraiya himself was not seriously injured, but even a shinobi of his status couldn't emerge from such a fight unscathed.

But he knew that it still wasn't time to relax; the air of battle still stirred to the east. He hoped Tsunade had already sent out the Anbu reinforcements. Feeling a bit unsettled, he wanted to know the full extent of the current situation. Before the battle had started, Tsunade gave him a special short-range device that would connect him to her automatically.

The tired, old man took the earpiece and microphone and switched it on.

"Tsunade," he spoke into it, "we've taken care of things on my side. How are Naruto and the others doing?"

"Listen, Jiraiya," her voice sounded urgent on the other line, "Messengers from the eastern lines have reported in, and several jounin there confirm seeing Itachi and Kisame on the battlefield. It's only a suspicion right now, but I think it safe to assume that they were the ones who orchestrated this attack."

"Itachi and Kisame!? Then, their goal was…" Jiraiya's voice rose, and several surrounding jounin eavesdropped on his words.

"Yes. It seems Naruto and Sasuke were taken in the middle of the fight," Tsunade spoke gravely, "I sent three Anbu squads to support our forces, and I sent the rest to sweep the surrounding area in search of Itachi."

"Hmph. With such little manpower to spare right now, it will probably take a while to locate them. Of course, that was probably a part of Itachi's plan all along."

With Jiraiya's mention of the name Itachi, one of the nearby jounin began to worry. She hadn't sustained any major injuries, but the medical team was looking her over, just to be sure.

"Suki-san," the medic started to ask, but Suki shushed him. She was trying to listen in on the words of Jiraiya.

"You're right," he was saying, "if that's all we can do for now, then it can't be helped. I trust those two to last a little bit longer, at the very least."

_Those two_, he said. Naruto and Sasuke. Without a doubt, those two guys were the ones he was talking about.

"Um, sorry," she said to the doctors, "but please excuse me."

Jiraiya was moving away from her, and she could no longer hear his end of the conversation. She tried to get closer, but the Sannin had already finished talking to the Hokage. He turned to find her standing there, and she stared at him with those eyes of deep worry.

She knew what had happened and the severity of the situation; she also understood that Tsunade was doing everything she could to find Naruto, and there was nothing either of them could do about it right now. Suki often found herself in this situation: stuck in a position where she could only have faith in him and wait for his return. While it made her feel helpless, she also trusted with all her heart that he would come back. He always did, wearing that idiotic grin like nothing had happened at all: the grin that took her worries away and replaced them with joy. For some reason, she knew that this time, too, she would get to see that grin again.

"Naruto, and Sasuke-san too…" she said to Jiraiya, "They won't lose."

Jiraiya found himself nodding in agreement. He knew that it wasn't just to put this girl at ease: it was because he, too, sincerely believed that they could do it.

But it wasn't going to be easy; not in the slightest.

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Naruto didn't know much about first aid, but he patched himself up as best as he could. The blood had stopped, at least, but his wounds still stung. He decided he'd better not try to move so much because his deep cuts from Samehada might open up again. In the fight between two brothers, Naruto probably wouldn't be able to offer any assistance. If things got really bad, of course he'd try to do everything in his power to help Sasuke, but from the looks of things, his rival was holding out just fine.

His eyes were locked on the top of the cliff side, where the dark blue sky was being lit up by fire techniques.

"Katon! Hinote Hebi!" (Fire Technique: Flame Serpent)

The fire attack that Sasuke launched at Itachi was so insufferably hot that it gave off a hissing sound as it scorched the air around them.

Both of them were going to try to end this very soon. From here on out, their most dangerous techniques were going to be unleashed. Itachi made a shadow clone and dodged the attack by spreading out; letting the huge, fiery snake pass right down the middle of his two bodies. Having avoided getting burned, the two Itachi's ran at Sasuke straight on. At this rate, Itachi and his clone were going to converge at the same spot at the same time. He used a kawarimi jutsu the way that Orochimaru taught him; a way that was extremely hard to detect even to the sharingan, but spent a lot of chakra. So when the two Itachi's arrived and mauled the wood replacement to death, Sasuke shot a perfectly timed Goukakyou no jutsu: the most basic yet effective fire technique of the Uchiha clan.

There is no counter to a perfectly timed jutsu. If the enemy ninja is caught unaware and in a poor position to counterattack, a perfectly timed and properly chosen jutsu is nearly impossible to defend. Nearly impossible…unless, of course, one has the Mangekyou sharingan.

All-consuming black flames…Amaterasu.

They easily swallowed up the orange serpent as the flickering blackness raged onwards toward Sasuke. The air itself was aflame. Rocks and trees and grass were burning; the entire area was engulfed in the dark flame. There was only one direction he could go to escape. He had to fly.

But…

That power was cursed. That power was tainted. It was vengeful and malicious: something created by a power hungry madman for the purpose of destruction. That's not what Sasuke wanted. His desire was to defend; to protect. He no longer wished to use the power he had obtained through hatred.

However, Itachi wasn't leaving him with much choice. Right now, it was either fly over the flames or be turned to ash. If he died here, Naruto would be taken, the kyuubi would be extracted, and Itachi would claim his ultimate goal. The choice was clear. He tapped in to the power of the curse mark.

Spreading over Sasuke's body, the curse mark soaked his skin with a shadowy tint. His eyes took on an eerie, sinister, yellow color that overpowered the red of his kekkei genkai. From his back sprouted two large wings, which gave two heavy flaps before taking the young Uchiha to the air.

Of course, Itachi knew that the only escape option available to Sasuke was above, and he had already planned his next move accordingly. He already had an attack waiting for his younger brother as soon as he emerged above the flames. The two kunai were easily deflected with Sasuke's kusanagi, but instead of harmlessly falling to the ground, they curved around and came at him again; Itachi was controlling them with chakra strings. The strings wrapped around Sasuke's feet, and the kunai anchored themselves deep into the ground. Tied down by Itachi's trap, Sasuke hung suspended in the air.

With his brother temporarily unable to dodge, Itachi took advantage of the situation. Calling forth the power of his Mangekyou, he called forth the black fire that burned hotter than the sun.

Sasuke's body was caught in the blast. It would burn away slowly, crawling up his body at a torturous pace; and Itachi could steal the eyes of his sibling while he screamed in pain. That's all there was left.

But this was one of those rare times that Itachi Uchiha had been outmaneuvered. His chest seared with an instant, unexpected pain as Sasuke's chidori ran through him. Sasuke's shadow clone had been devoured by Amaterasu and destroyed. Pulling his arm back through Itachi's chest, Sasuke felt a wave of relief wash over him. The betrayer of his clan, Itachi, fell to both knees, his hands grasping for the gaping hole in his upper body.

"You saw through my genjutsu," he gasped, maintaining a level voice even through his deep gasps for breath.

"Yeah. That first Amaterasu you did was only an illusion. I suspected that you would have something waiting for me once I cleared the flames, so I sent out a shadow clone while I used a genjutsu of my own to disappear," said Sasuke, walking around his brother's crippled body in order to face him.

"I see. Nicely done," was all Itachi said.

Shadow clones: if he had learned anything from his fights with Naruto, it was that shadow clones could be extremely useful. He couldn't count how many times he had been fooled so badly by Naruto's tricks that he probably looked like a total idiot.

Sasuke didn't have anything else to say; he never intended to talk with his brother, anyway. All he had to do was one more attack to finish it all. He raised his sword over his head. This was it: the final blow.

"So foolish…" came Itachi, "it's not over yet."

His eyes were bleeding again. Impossible. Itachi had already used Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu, so his body should definitely be feeling fatigue. Each of those Mangekyou techniques used a single eye each, but what was this jutsu that required both eyes at the same time. It was something Sasuke had never seen before; Itachi was surrounded by a great aura. The energy flowing in the air around him began to take form, with Itachi encased at the heart. Sasuke jumped back cautiously. He didn't know what this new technique was capable of, but whatever it was, he was sure that it wouldn't be easily overcome.

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The casualties were much higher on the east side, and the injuries much more serious than the west side. If Tsunade hadn't sent out the Anbu reinforcements, things might have turned out much worse. With the arrival of ready-to-fight shinobi, the attacking Rain ninja were forced into a retreat. Now, all black ops squads were patrolling the surrounding area, tracking down enemy shinobi.

The medical teams had their work cut out for them as they swept through dozens of their wounded comrades. Sakura wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead as she worked over a heavily injured chuunin. She couldn't do much for him here in the field; this man would have to be taken to the hospital and be treated by Tsunade and her medical teams.

She moved on to the next patient, who had only suffered some burns from a lightning jutsu that had brushed past him. As her eyes searched the crowd, she grew more and more anxious. So far, Naruto and Sasuke had yet to appear, and she hadn't spotted anyone from their group, either. If she just kept working her way through the crowd, though, she figured she'd eventually run into one of them. Her prediction came true; Akiko and Shikamaru were talking with Neji, their teams gathered around them. Sakura took the initiative and approached them.

Akiko greeted her first. "Sakura-san…"

Neji gave her a nod.

"Are you guys okay?" Sakura asked them.

"Yeah, we're fine."

Akiko knew that Sakura was looking for Sasuke and Naruto; she hadn't heard the news yet. The question was already burning in the girl's eyes before she even asked it.

"Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

She was answered with silence, and that was all it took for Sakura to know that something was wrong. She studied Akiko's expression. Those pitch black eyes showed signs of worry, but if something really bad had happened to Naruto, she would probably have been crying. Sakura nodded her understanding. Those two were in trouble again; they were always in some kind of danger. But they always found a way to fight through it and come back, bruised and sometimes bloody but always having the strength to overcome any obstacle. They would do so again.

Sakura didn't want to bother with details. She'd ask the two of them about it when they came back. Instead, she resumed her role as the head medic.

"Is anyone from your group badly injured?"

"Yanagi-san and Akira-san were already sent to the hospital. The rest of us are pretty banged up, but we'll make it. You can go ahead and move on to people who really need you, Sakura-san," replied Akiko.

"Right."

They all watched as she walked away, rushing over to help some other medical ninja stabilize a chuunin that had taken some shuriken to the abdomen.

Iruka was the first to speak after she left.

"We were all fortunate to have Akiko-san here. She held the group together even after Naruto and Sasuke were taken. If not for her leadership, we might not have made it out of there and met up with Neji."

"It wasn't me," she admitted, "we only survived because you guys were strong enough to carry out my orders and endure all of the enemy attacks."

"Well, I'm just glad it's over," said Shikamaru, and not a soul disagreed with him.

The hard-fought battle was over. The Leaf had emerged as the victors. Luckily, their Hokage was the most accomplished medical ninjutsu specialist in the entire world. With Tsunade overseeing medical operations, hopefully the number of casualties would be reduced. The great wall had been completely demolished on the eastern and western sides, but at least the fighting had not moved to the residential areas. The shinobi of Konoha had defended their home yet again. Although the attack may have weakened their defenses for the time being, their victory here would spread across the land. This marked the second time in three years that an invasion of Konohagakure had failed. Other villages were going to think twice before raising a hand against the Hidden Leaf.

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Susanou. Itachi called it Susanou.

It acted as both offense and defense. Itachi was encased in some kind of chakra, which had taken the shape of a large, freakish, humanoid figure. The arms acted as extensions of Itachi's own arms. With those long limbs, it was difficult for Sasuke to get close, and when he did, none of his attacks got to Itachi through the huge, protective ribcage of this weird technique.

Even though this new jutsu had appeared, it didn't change the fact that Itachi was heavily injured; Sasuke's chidori had run right through him. How Itachi was still standing after a hit to a vital organ was baffling. He doubted his older brother could withstand another hit. Even so, Sasuke could feel himself losing speed and power. One hit from Itachi's latest Mangekyou technique might prove strong enough to end the fight. He wasn't sure how long Itachi could hold this jutsu, but the longer this went on, the advantage would be in Itachi's favor. As time passed, Sasuke lost energy from dodging and avoiding attacks.

There was only one choice: before he lost any more chakra, he was going to have to use a ninjutsu strong enough to break through that defense.

He visualized the plan in his head. He only had one shot. This was going to take the rest of his strength to pull off, and if it didn't work, Sasuke was going to lose.

He squared off with Itachi, finding a position directly in front of him, and ran forward several paces to close the distance between them. A huge chakra fist came in straight from the front, but Sasuke's summoning of the impenetrable gate, Rashamon, stopped it short. Jumping to the top of the gigantic wall he had created, Sasuke readied his final attack. Drawing blood from both of his thumbs, he made a quick set of hand signs.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

He summoned two great snakes, and they entangled the arms of Itachi's creation. Sasuke let the snakes coil themselves around the pillars of Rashamon, leaving the arms unable to move. He held his katana out in front of him, letting his lightning natured chakra build up in the blade. Augmented with Sasuke's chakra, the sword began to glow a pure blue. This was his strongest jutsu. It was too fast to dodge, and its destructive power was in a league above his regular chidori.

It was created for this very moment.

He took flight, moving himself directly above the struggling Itachi. Into his palm he gathered more chakra, with an electrical charge opposite to what he had stored in his blade. He could feel the two forces repelling each other as his path arched high over Itachi.

Sasuke looked straight down and saw that he was in line with his target. This was it: he fired his blade, and it took off like a rocket, leaving a trail of lightning in its wake. The blue flash was so bright, and the attack moved so fast that even Sasuke could not track it. The impact was explosive; the smoke had yet to clear when he landed.

He could only watch as the dust settled. Was Itachi still standing? Either way, this fight was over. If the bastard was still alive, Sasuke wouldn't be able to get away from that technique. Even now, his curse mark receded, his chakra was spent and his body was too tired to move. He didn't even have the stamina to keep his sharingan going.

But he didn't need those sharp eyes to see his elder brother slowly walking towards him from out of the wreckage. At first, Sasuke panicked; his sword was lying on the ground and Itachi bore no wounds that indicated that the lightning had hit. But after taking a closer look, he realized that Itachi's mysterious technique was fading. The chakra was slowly leaking away. He was stumbling now, Itachi was, as if he had had too much to drink. Lucky for Sasuke, it looked like the wound to his chest had finally bled him out.

The betrayer of the Uchiha clan stood before the remaining survivor of his massacre. Coughing up blood, he was brought down to one knee. With a weary arm, he reached for Sasuke.

"They're right there," he said weakly as his fingers stretched for Sasuke's eyes, "So close…so close…"

Those were the last words of a dying man; the rest of it was gurgled and inaudible. The man clawed at his brother's shirt, his knees, his ankles as his body grew heavier and sunk to the ground.

And then, right there on that cliff with Sasuke standing over him, Uchiha Itachi died.

It was a funny feeling. He should've been happy to finally extract his revenge on the man who had killed his family; the man he had hated for the better part of a decade. Of course, there was a sense of closure, but that wasn't the only thing. He found himself thinking about Sakura. Now that his own battle was over, he thought about how the Village was holding up, and if Naruto was okay.

That's right. Sasuke had so many other things to live for now besides revenge. It was a gift that had been granted to him by a great man.

He looked down from the cliff and spotted a patch of bright yellow, the only thing he could see down below in the darkness. Carefully, he made his way down the steep walls, going at a slow, comfortable pace. It took him a while to reach the bottom.

He limped his way over to where Naruto sat, all cut up from his fight with the ruthless swordsman. The blonde chuckled as Sasuke approached, whose legs gave out on him as he collapsed right next to his comrade and friend.

"You're slow," Naruto mocked, "I beat up my guy a while ago. I win."

"I don't wanna hear it from you, idiot," came Sasuke roughly, "if we go by which of us is more injured, then I win."

"Tch. We'll call it a tie, then," Naruto sighed, annoyed that there was no clear cut winner.

"No, I concede defeat. You won without shadow clones. I had to use the curse mark."

Naruto had already sensed Sasuke's internal feeling of defeat at the hands of his forbidden power.

"Well, what matters is that you're alive," he remarked, "Now, at least you have the chance to get stronger so that you won't have to use it next time."

They sat there at the bottom of the cliff for a while, and Naruto offered to help Sasuke with the crude first aid treatment. Although it was dark out, this place was surprisingly well lit. Millions of stars hung overhead, and the full moon was as pale as ever. It seemed like all of the light from the night sky was being filtered into this one place. Looking around, Naruto couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed it earlier; the walls of the surrounding cliffs were glowing in silver.

"It's kind of nice…" he said to Sasuke, "I wish Suki were here to see it. It feels like a waste of a good atmosphere being here with another guy."

"Ah. I suppose you really haven't had the time to tell her yet, after all that's happened."

"Well…actually she was the one who said it first," admitted Naruto.

Sasuke turned to face him, and Naruto just smiled in slight embarrassment.

"So then, you two are…"

"Yeah."

"Heh…" Sasuke smiled back, nodding his approval, "Well then, we'd better get back before everyone starts to worry too much."

Using each other's weight as support, they helped each other to their feet.

"Any idea where we are?" asked Sasuke.

"Boss Toad said the Village is this way," indicated Naruto as he pointed, "looks like we're in for a long night…"

"It'll just be worse if you bitch about it, loser," Sasuke's voice was cool and harsh, but he wore a grin. "Or is it that Kisame beat you up so bad you can't walk?"

"Dumbass. Just who exactly is holding up who?" countered Naruto.

"You had time to rest; it's only natural that I'm more tired than you."

"It's not my fault you couldn't kill that guy faster…"

If Sasuke argued back, this stupid argument would just keep going all night. He didn't like letting Naruto have the last word, but if he let it slide just this once, they might be able to move on to something else and at least have a less annoying conversation. And so, the Uchiha said nothing.

"Nothing to say, huh? That's what I thought!!" said Naruto, replying to the silence and stepping forward.

"Just walk, idiot."

Leaning on each other heavily, they coordinated their footsteps carefully and started the long trek back to Konoha…home.

And they kept on walking stubbornly despite their condition and fatigue, not wanting to be the first one to collapse.


	52. The Day After and Tomorrows to Come

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Wow. It's been a while. My bad, my bad. Anyway, here it is: the semi-final chapter. Hope ya like it. Expect just a little epilogue next chapter telling you what everyone's doing and all that sort of thing.

And I don't think I said thank you for the last couple of chapters, so thanks. Like, a lot. Seriously.

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The night dragged on into the early hours of the morning. Anbu squads came and left the village, sometimes bringing Amegakure captives back with them. Only recently had Tsunade given the all clear, certain that there was no longer a threat of attack to Konoha. Weary from the whole ordeal, the villagers sleepily returned to their homes. The jounin had to attend a post-battle meeting before they were dismissed, where they had to report any casualties. The east and west sides combined for ten lost chuunin and five jounin, and several shinobi were still receiving intensive medical care; it was uncertain whether or not they would survive the night. Lastly, there were two jounin who were still missing in action: the ones who had been kidnapped in the middle of the fight.

Suki and Akiko wanted to wait up for Sasuke and Naruto, but their fatigue was making it hard on them.

In fact, the majority of the village was sleeping when the two heroes returned. One of the Anbu teams had spotted them dragging each other along the road into town and escorted them back to Konoha. They answered the young jounins' questions to the best of their knowledge: how the battle had progressed after they were gone, how many casualties they had suffered, if their friends were all right. The number of dead was never a nice thing to hear, be it just one or one hundred. The two of them paid their silent respects to those who had died today.

Back inside the safety of Konoha's great gates, Naruto and Sasuke were taken directly to the hospital for medical treatment. Tsunade was busy saving as much lives as she could, but Jiraiya was also there, and they could report their story to him.

The great sage was waiting in the lobby, and he smiled when they entered the hospital doors. Sasuke smirked and Naruto grinned, holding up two fingers victoriously.

"Oh, so you're back!" he called to the two boys.

"Sorry we're late," came Naruto's weary voice, "Sasuke took too much time beating up that brother of his."

"Is that so? Well, why didn't you help him?" questioned Jiraiya.

To answer his question, Sasuke stepped back and held out his hands to showcase the sliced up Naruto.

"He was too busy trying not to bleed to death from the injuries he got from Kisame."

"Ah, so that's what it was!" said Jiraiya.

"You're not looking so great yourself, Ero-sannin," commented Naruto, trying to retaliate.

"Ah, well, taking out whole groups of Rain ninja can get an old man like me pretty tired," chuckled Jiraiya, "But we'll talk later. Go get those wounds of yours looked at, and get some rest. I'll tell Tsunade you guys are back and we'll meet up tomorrow; she'll probably need a good rest after tonight, too. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura are going to be pretty busy in the emergency room all night, but one of the other doctors should be able to help out."

The boys nodded and headed to the back, where the medical staff was waiting for them. Naruto finally got some relief for those especially deep cuts he had received, which fortunately were not infected. His wounds were cleaned, closed, and dressed properly, although he knew most of them would treat themselves overnight anyway.

Sasuke had suffered some minor burns, scratches, and bruises, but he was more tired than anything else. The doctor released him much earlier than Naruto, so he waited. He really wanted to see Sakura, but she was probably working really hard to make sure no more of their comrades died. She most likely already heard from Jiraiya that he and Naruto had returned, so that would have to do for now.

With both of their examinations finished, they headed to Naruto's house to put an end to the day. A lot had happened today for both of them: endings, closure, and new beginnings. And right now, the two weary heroes wanted nothing more than a soft pillow and a nice warm bed.

The small, shabby, cramped house gave them a warm greeting. It was the first time in a while that Sasuke didn't have to sleep at the prison, and so he welcomed a futon with sleepy enthusiasm. But Naruto had one more thing to check on before he could call it a night.

He made his way to the bedroom, where the two girls slept. He couldn't really see them that well in the dark, but he tried to inspect them for injuries. Suki seemed just fine; he could only make out a few bandages in the dark, and her breathing seemed relaxed. Naruto watched her for a while. Her golden hair stood out in the darkness. The thin bed sheet that covered her outlined her figure. He took her hand lightly, and she reflexively folded her hand in his. Smiling to himself, Naruto brushed his fingertips against Suki's cheek gently before turning his attention to the girl sleeping next to her.

From the looks of things, Akiko's injuries were much heavier. She and the others must have had a rough time when he and Sasuke disappeared so suddenly. But what mattered was that they were okay. Seeing them sleeping so peacefully in front of him finally put him at ease. He wanted to wake them, laugh with them, talk to them, but he'd let them rest for now. There'd be plenty of time for that later.

With the last worry on his mind taken care of, he decided it was time to give in to his mind-numbing weariness. Naruto dragged his feet along the floor, trying to reach the sofa. He tripped over Sasuke by accident, who grunted at his friend's clumsiness. Finally, his body sunk into the softness of the couch cushions, and he drifted off to sleep.

It was done; this day in their lives was over and gone. And there were many days yet to come.

-xxx-

Dawn came. The morning was so gentle and quiet that no one could be guess what kind of chaos had occurred the night before. But the sun rose far too early for the ninja of Konoha. Much like the rest of the Village, all four of the slumbering shinobi in Naruto's house slept right into the afternoon. It wasn't until their stomachs began to growl that they fully awoke, their bodies calling out for nutrients to help them recover. Naruto, having the recuperative abilities of the kyuubi, was the first to wake. He sat up on the couch, stretching out his arms and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Removing his bandages, he found that most of his wounds had closed, and although they sting stung a little, they looked a lot better than they had last night. He and Sasuke were able to wash up a little when they got back, but neither of them had the chance to take a bath. Lazily, he headed for the bathroom.

Sasuke felt Naruto's footsteps as he walked past, and he raised his head just in time to see Naruto disappear into the bathroom. He felt like sleeping in even more, but the two of them had to go see their Hogake to fill her in on everything that happened. But before that, he had to do something about the tremendous pain in his stomach caused by lack of food. He didn't want to get up; he felt like he could lay here forever. If he didn't get up now, he'd probably just lie there for the rest of the day. So, much to the reluctance of his body, he sat up.

Akiko woke to the sound of running water, and she instantly smiled. They were back. She shook Suki gently; excitedly. As expected, she was met with groans of protest from the half-awake blonde girl. But Akiko just kept on shaking her and watched as a slow realization brought Suki to life. Once both girls were up, they went into the main room where they met Sasuke, sitting quietly on the sofa, waiting for something to happen.

"Sasuke-san!" they said together, brightly, "welcome back!"

Of course, Sasuke just played it cool. He shrugged, as if saying _well, what did you expect?_

"Yo," he said simply.

Still, he couldn't hide the entirety of his smile. These were his friends, and he was happy to see them. Because of what happened last night, he felt like he hadn't seen them in a while. Laughing at his attitude, the two girls joined him as they moved to the dining room table where they could all sit, where they waited for the final person to arrive.

Naruto was tempted to drift back to sleep in the comfortable, warm water. If he wasn't so hungry, he probably would have. And with him, the stomach was almost always the number one priority. With thoughts of ramen swirling about in his mind, he hurried to finish up and dry off.

"Oi, Sasuke," he called as he opened the door, letting steam rise out of the bathroom, "the bathroom's free. Hurry up so we can eat."

But when he looked up from drying his hair, he saw that Sasuke wasn't the only one up.

Naruto instantly grinned.

"Morning!" he greeted.

Sasuke nodded at him as he stood, eager to get into the bath. Moving away from the door to let him pass, Naruto joined Akiko and Suki at the table.

Akiko didn't seem very happy with Naruto's reaction.

"What the hell kind of greeting is that?" she said, "Suki worried about you all night, you know, and all you can say is 'morning?' This is the reunion of two lovers! Show some passion, Maki-san!"

Then, she turned to Suki.

"And what are you doing, just sitting here? Is that how you greet the returning hero? You should run and jump into his arms and say, 'I missed you so much. Every second you're gone is so unbearable!' and then comes the long awaited kiss-"

Suki quickly silenced her the only way she knew how: pain. With a solid fist to the top of the head, she made the other girl bite her tongue.

"Heehee…" Akiko chuckled playfully while tenderly holding her head, "I already heard about it from Suki. Nice going!"

She and Naruto shared a thumbs up.

"You two…" mumbled Suki, "you read too much romance mangas, Kiko."

"You may be right," said Naruto, a bit timidly, "it doesn't sound like that bad of an idea, though…"

The blonde girl felt herself blush. Was he trying to tease her?

"W-what are you saying, Baka-kun!?"

She looked around to Akiko. The shorter girl smiled her encouragement. She looked back to Naruto. They were staring at her, waiting for her to move. She didn't. It may have only been for the sake of not giving them what they wanted, but she held her ground

"Ah. I guess she's just not that happy to see you, Maki-san," declared Akiko, "What a shame."

Suki finally decided to give in, giving Akiko the scene she wanted. It would look bad for her if she didn't do it, at this point. She didn't jump into his arms desperately, but she walked over nonetheless.

"Welcome back, Naruto," she said, gently brushing her fingers across the slices on his face, "Look at these cuts…try not to be so reckless, okay?"

"Sorry."

Even though she had refused to do so, she hugged him close. It was the natural thing to do.

Akiko was satisfied, and after giving the couple a good moment to themselves, she joined them for a group hug. This was a big moment for the three members of Rakugosha. Akatsuki, their long time enemy that had killed three of their members, had been defeated. No longer would they come around here hunting down Naruto and causing them grief.

It wasn't about words. The three of them just shared a silent moment among friends; among family.

The house was quiet. Sasuke sat in the bath, the hot water loosening up the soreness in his body. But as relaxed as he was, he didn't want to spend that much time here; there were a lot of things to be done today, and he'd already spent half of it sleeping in. Tsunade was going to want to hear from them, and some of his friends, the original rookie nine, were in the hospital. And most importantly, he hadn't seen Sakura since he came back. Sasuke surprised even himself when he realized how much he wanted to see her. He was still new to all of this.

That dark, raven hair of his was still damp when he emerged from the bathroom, pulling his shirt down from over his shoulders.

"You hungry?" Naruto asked immediately.

"Starving."

"Hmmm," said Suki sarcastically, "I wonder where we're going to eat…"

Akiko, Suki, and Sasuke shared a laugh. They all knew that ramen loomed in their future. At the thought of Ichiraku, Naruto's eyes sparkled with glee. The other three sighed at how simple it was to get him all giddy like this. Well, it wasn't like they weren't hungry either, and thoughts of food were filling their minds.

The old chef and his daughter greeted their usual customers smile. Naruto and his group always racked up a hefty bill with the ramen-crazed boy eating five or six bowls a visit. More than that, though, the kid and his friends were always good company to have around. Good for simple-minded conversations, the kind which no one would remember what was said a few hours later; only remembering how much they laughed.

They were all in a good mood. Putting the dramatic events of yesterday behind them, they figured it would be a good idea to let loose. Caught up in the eating and talking and laughing, they four young ninja forgot that Tsunade was probably waiting to hear from them.

In fact, she was. She had been waiting all morning for them to show up. And when they didn't, she and her entourage –Jiraiya, Shizune and Ton-ton, and a handful of Anbu watching from the shadows- went out in search of them. The first place she knew to look was the last place she needed; all four of them were pigging out at Ichiraku. Tsunade cleared her throat quite loudly over the voices of the young jounin, the chef, and the hostess.

The reaction was immediate. The old man and his daughter straightened out and bowed politely. The two girls and Sasuke stopped eating, turned to her, and bowed slightly in their seats. The only one to show no signs of respect was Naruto, of course.

"Hey, Old Lady! You come to eat some ramen too?" he said jovially, still in high spirits.

"I came looking for you. I should have figured that stuffing your big mouth took priority over reporting what happened last night to your Hokage," she said with a peeved face that she seemed to wear constantly when Naruto was around.

"We were going to go straight to you after this, Old Lady, I swear!" Naruto said as he slurped up a dangling noodle.

Tsunade sighed. "Well, since we're all here, you can tell me over lunch. I haven't had much to eat, either. I'm feeling generous today, so whatever you guys are having is my treat. Eat all you want."

"Alright!" shouted Naruto, "Old Lady, you're awesome!"

The three guests of honor took their seats at the ramen stand, each giving their orders to Ayame.

Over round after round of ramen, Naruto retold the events that had occurred the night before, with Sasuke intervening from time to time when Naruto's boasting blew the facts out of proportion. All ears listened with great interest, marveling at the level of skill that the two boys had achieved.

When they finished reliving the biggest night of their young lives, a voice spoke out from behind them.

"Seems like you two have reached new heights in your ninja training. Students surpassing the teacher…it's a bit sad, really, but I'm proud of you two."

It was Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke had been so into reporting their fight to everyone that they hadn't noticed his arrival. Suki, Akiko, Shizune, Ayame, and the old chef had also been unaware of his presence, intrigued by what they were hearing. Only the two Sannin and the pig realized that Kakashi had appeared halfway through the story.

"Yo," he waved when he had their attention.

"Hello, Kakashi-san," the girls bowed.

Sasuke greeted him casually as usual.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto growled, his voice dangerously low, "You always show up too late!! We could have used your help yesterday, you know, you useless sensei!!"

His sensei found a way to defend himself and ignore the seething Naruto at the same time.

"Tsunade-sama, I finally completed all the missions that were assigned to me."

"Excellent," the Lady Hokage replied, "I trust that you finished them all without any problems?"

"None at all, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now then, are you hungry?"

-xxx-

As much as they felt like it, they couldn't just mess around all day. There were things to be done, and one of them was the funeral ceremony for all those who had died. The playful mood had all but faded from their minds once the service began; the black coffins being carried down the rows worked to somber everyone's spirits. Ninja who had fought and died for this Village, for what they believed in, and for their loved ones: it was those people most of all that Naruto never wanted to disappoint.

Sasuke saw Sakura for the first time that day. She was standing with the other hospital doctors, off to the right of everyone else. Her green eyes and pretty face showed signs of weariness, but she smiled when their eyes met. He heard from Tsunade that Sakura wasn't able to save two of her patients last night. It must have really been hard on her. Sasuke really wanted to go and see if she was okay.

It was one reunion Naruto didn't get to take part in. Right after the ceremony closed, Tsunade called him into her office.

"You're definitely on track as far as fighting ability goes, but that's only one aspect of being the Hokage. From now on, you're going to be coming to a lot more of my meetings and seeing what the leader of a village really has to deal with."

She said something to that affect and dragged him away, leaving Suki, Sasuke, and Akiko to meet with Sakura, who was all too eager to squeeze Sasuke until his eyes bulged.

The four of them couldn't wait to head back and just relax, but Sasuke had something on his mind. He told the three girls to go on ahead of him so he could have a quick word with his old sensei. He caught Kakashi just as he was about to leave after talking to some fellow jounin.

"What is it?" asked Kakashi when Sasuke expressed that he wanted to talk.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "This whole thing began the day Naruto and I fought at the Valley of the End. I know he didn't come back to the Village after that. But he told me that he met up with you a few days later, and you let him go."

Kakashi thought he knew where this was going. "You want to know why I let Naruto, a jinchuuriki, and a genin at that, go out to search for Orochimaru knowing that he was hunting a Sannin and that Akatsuki might attack him at any time?"

"Well…yeah."

"Of course, I'm wouldn't be so irresponsible as to let Naruto go out on his own. I shadowed Naruto for quite a while before I let him loose. You know those two brothers Naruto talks about?"

"Baine and Sato," stated Sasuke.

"They were old acquaintances of mine. After the loss of their brother a few years earlier, the two of them started down the wrong path, blinded by their desire for revenge. I arranged for them to meet up with Naruto. And from there, he made more and more comrades, all of them linked by a goal of revenge. Naruto changed them, helped them grow, and in return he learned many things from them as well. Baine and Sato trained them all to be capable fighters, able to handle most battles by themselves. After the brothers died, Jiraiya-sama and I kept an eye on their activities, making sure that Rakugosha didn't get into any trouble. We knew that they were still no match for Orochimaru, you, and Kabuto, so we led them back here before they got any actual leads and tracked you down. It just so happened that around that time, the Kazekage was kidnapped, and from there, you pretty much already know how it goes."

"That doesn't really answer my question, Kakashi."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," replied the older man with a shrug, "but sometimes decisions don't need to have a reason, do they?"

"I guess not," concluded Sasuke.

"Of course, if something happened to Naruto, all of the blame would have fallen to me, and that wouldn't have been good at all."

Sasuke marveled at how is former teacher could always say such serious things so casually. It was probably because everything worked out fine, in the end. He had heard everything he had wanted from Kakashi, so their talk was over. Sakura and the other girls were waiting for him at the house, and personally, he wanted to rush home to her. But there was one more thing he wanted to say to this man.

"Kakashi," he said, "you were a good sensei; to Naruto, and Sakura, and to me. That talk we had just before I left…sorry it took me so long to understand what you were saying."

"Hm? You say something?" Kakashi had his face buried in a small, orange book as he walked.

"No. Not a word."

"Well then, all those missions kept me busy, so I've got to catch up on my reading. Later."

Kakashi jumped off, and Sasuke stared after him with a small smile on his face.

-xxx-

Naruto yawned as his chin rested in his palm. He absentmindedly smacked his lips quite loudly. Sitting next to him was Shizune, who nudged his arm with her elbow, causing his head support to collapse and forced his head straight into the hard, wooden table. She looked at him strictly before returning to the discussion at hand: a talk between representatives from Suna and Ame. Temari was among the Sand entourage, and was one of the few who saw Naruto and Shizune's little exchange. Elders from the Rain were insisting that the military actions of Amegakure had been unsanctioned by the Village elders. Apparently, when news of Paine's defeat reached their village, the top jounin proposed to the council an invasion of Konoha, which they refused. Angered by the decision, several jounin conspired to take more than half of Amegakure's forces and march against Konoha, resulting in the battle that occurred just the day before. When they found out that Rain ninja were on their way to attack the Leaf, the elders immediately dispatched an envoy to speak with the Hokage.

On the other hand, the Kazekage received Tsunade's urgent message and sent several teams to the aid of his allies. With the mission being top priority, the Suna shinobi had ran on tirelessly to make it to Konoha in just one day.

It was all nonsense to Naruto, who had tuned everything out about ten minutes into the conversations. Instead, he kept flashing the "is it over yet" look to Temari, who just chuckled at him. As he scanned the room once more, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. His eyes instantly turned to Tsunade, who looked rather mad.

"Did you hear what I said, Naruto?" she asked, already knowing the answer, "I said, what do you think about all of this?"

He did the best he could with the information he had.

"Well, we shouldn't hold it against these old guys from Amegakure for what those other guys did. Itachi is the one the instigated everything. And now, they're in a pretty tight situation now, since we kicked all their jounin's asses. Their village is vulnerable to attack from rival villages. For the time being, Konoha and Suna should work to help them out while they rebuild; at least until they get themselves a new leader. The way I see it, if Konoha, Suna, and Ame come to an alliance, there'll probably be less fighting because none of the other ninja villages would want to mess with us."

Tsunade nodded. That's just about what she expected from him. But there was one problem with what he said: they would have to be careful if the three villages indeed decided to form a three-way alliance. While it was true that other villages wouldn't raise a hand against one of them because it would mean dealing with all three of them, that might lead to them forming their own alliances with the other large villages in order to oppose the Suna, Konoha, Ame triangle, and that might ultimately result in the next great ninja war. If they decided to form a treaty, then they'd have to go about it very carefully. For now, Tsunade settled with just sending support in the form of light troops and supplies to Amegakure. She'd just have to take it slow from there.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," said Naruto after she explained all these things to him and the rest of the people in the room, "Can I go now?"

"You're dismissed, but pay more attention next time."

With a bow that to all the old elders from the Sand and Rain that Shizune had to remind him to do, he headed out. He never cared for all that formal meeting stuff. Being in a small room with so many old people was a real downer. Since Shizune seemed to like it so much, he'd leave those things to her once he became Hokage.

It was already dark out, the street lamps had probably been on for about an hour already. Naruto hummed to himself as he walked down the road. If Tsunade was trying to prepare him for becoming Hokage by making him accompany her to some important meeting stuff, then that meant that she was planning to name him her successor after she stepped down. He'd probably get to go to some top secret meetings, too. His happy humming continued, that is, until he came to a dreadful realization: knowing that old hag, she'd probably make him file all her paperwork while she skipped out and drank sake.

He walked down the street. He didn't hum. The bounce in his step was lost. His face darkened as he dragged his feet woefully.

It wasn't until he caught sight of Sasuke and Akiko that he came back to his senses. They called to him as they came closer.

"Hey, you guys," Naruto said, "what are you guys doing out here."

"We figured you must be dying in that meeting, so we came to rescue you," smiled Akiko, "but it looks like you made it out on your own."

"Yeah. The Old Lady let me go. So where's Sakura and Suki?" asked Naruto, noting their absence.

They began to walk together back the way they had come.

"Sakura's beat; she's at your house, sleeping. Suki's there, too, getting ready," Sasuke told him.

"Getting ready? For what?"

"Oh, she and Sakura want us to go out on some kind of double date or something like that," remarked Sasuke.

Naruto's expression of puzzlement matched Sasuke's thoughts exactly.

"A double date?" he asked, "like, with the four of us?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"But, isn't that basically just us hanging out like we always do?"

"I guess so, yeah," shrugged Sasuke.

"If that's the case," said Naruto, "then it's okay for Aki-chan to come to, right?"

"I guess so, yeah," Sasuke repeated, unsure of whether he was right or wrong.

That was as far as the two of them got before Akiko cut in quite forcefully.

"No! You two have got it all wrong! It's a date! A DATE!! So you can't approach it like it's just a regular day with the four of you just goofing around, got it!?"

"But then…what should we do?" asked Naruto, and Sasuke leaned in to hear the answer as well.

"You know…romantic stuff. In fact, you two are stopping by Ino-san's flower shop before you head back home"

The smaller girl pulled their arms, leading them through a detour that led right past the flower shop. Naruto picked up a bouquet of the lilies he had got Suki earlier, and Sasuke unconfidently bought some pink-looking ones that he thought matched Sakura's hair. Outside the store, Akiko finished the last of her pep talk.

"Remember, this is a special occasion. We can all get together and have stupid fun nay day we want. As long as you two understand that this is different from that, then you'll be fine. I'll probably hear all about it anyway: those two will tell me if you fail miserably. Compliment them a lot, but don't overdo it or else it'll look like you're trying too hard to find something nice about them. Sasuke, I know it's not your style and everything, but it wouldn't kill you to be a little more expressive. I think Sakura-san will be happy if you surprise her by being more talkative. Maki-san, we don't have the time to stand here and go over everything you shouldn't do, but just don't be too idiotic, okay? But, the most important thing is that the two of you don't argue. "

The boys tried to follow her every word, but found themselves lost somewhere in the middle. They didn't even realize she was done talking until she gave them both a big pat on the shoulder, told them to do their best, and headed off in her own direction.

They quickly found themselves alone on the street holding armfuls of flowers and looking clueless. They turned to stare at each other, both looking doubtful about what to do next.

"Sounds like we've got a lot of pressure on us," sighed Sasuke.

"No kidding," Naruto agreed with his friend as he rarely did, "it's too complicated for me…"

Still reluctant, they laughed it off together as they both walked forward. As long as they were there to back each other up, they'd manage somehow.

After all, these two had been through a lot together. Their connection could be traced back to when their bitter childhoods that were fueled by hatred. In that dark world, the two of them could feel that they knew what the other was going through. They felt like out of all the people in Konoha that they avoided and distanced themselves from, that there was at least one who could understand what they were going through. Even though they were rivals, even though they acted like they hated each other, they were always there to push each other forward.

Team seven, the chuunin exams, Sasuke's defection; the fight at Valley of the End, the way Naruto never gave up on Sasuke, the fight at the bridge, the return to Konoha, hunting Akatsuki, the situation with ROOTS, and the encounter with Itachi.

Sasuke and Naruto. Directly or indirectly, together or apart, miniscule or significant: one way or the other, the two of them had always been connected, motivating the actions of the other effortlessly. They had come a long way. With friends and loved ones, they made it through all their struggles. They made it to today; to this very moment.

Adventures and danger, hardships and laughter, their journey so far had been long. They made mistakes and learned from them, dealt with the pain of loss and gradually learned to love other. And they grew stronger for the future.

And yet, even after the great sense of closure from the day before and with everything they had worked so hard for coming to life all around them, more obstacles loomed ahead. Full of excitement and danger, laughter and tears…and probably lots of ramen: the journey ahead will bring them new trials that they will have to overcome and adventures to conquer…

Starting, of course, with this double date with Sakura and Suki.


	53. The Will of Fire

So…here we are: the final chapter. I kinda pulled a little double time skip on ya.

Anyway, I just wanna say thanks to each and every person who is reading this right now. This story started over a year ago when I jotted some things down during a biology class, and the only reason it kept going was because of you guys.

You have no idea how awesome you guys are.

This is actually the first non-oneshot I have ever seen through to the bittersweet end. It was rough in some areas, and I know I still have a lot of things I can improve on in my writing. For sticking with me through the good and the bad, and for all the constructive criticism, I sincerely appreciate it. This has been a great learning experience for me.

In regards to what is coming up next from me (if anyone cares), I've got all kinds of ideas for all kinds of things. I've got two big projects in mind, one of them being another Naruto story. I wrote out the first chapters but there are some things I want to rethink and rewrite. And as a huge Legend of Zelda fan, it was inevitable that I contract the urge to write a Zelda fic. The rough details for that are still a little sketchy, though, so I don't expect it out anytime soon. Other than that, oneshot ideas pop into my head all the time, and I've been meaning to get caught up on those FMA oneshots. I'm always reading new manga, watching new anime, reading new books, and playing new video games, so even I don't know what kind of oneshots I'll be wanting to put out there, so I hope to see more of you guys and girls in the future.

All that being said, I really hope you enjoy the last chapter of Promise of a Lifetime.

It's been fun.

-K.o.S

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The old swing was still there. Sitting alone just across from the Ninja Academy, the rusting chain links and fading wooden seat served as a trigger for one man's memories. The days of his childhood were not the fondest of his memories, nor were they the happiest of times. He remembered this swing. He remembered how lonely it was to sit in it and watch all the other kids smiling happily. The old metal and the decaying wood were very significant in his life.

It was while sitting in this exact spot that a dream was born.

-xxx-

_They were staring at him again, with those eyes full of contempt. Those were the only type that he ever saw from people. They smiled at others -tenderly, jokingly- but whenever they saw him, their eyes would always change. No one smiled at him. _

_An outcast. He didn't belong here. He didn't belong anywhere. He was alone. _

_Just then, a commotion broke out among the villagers. A man in white robes had appeared, and the people rushed to see him. They were awed by the man's presence. Each one of them bowed to him, spoke politely to him, and looked at him with admiration and trust. The villagers respected him. The villagers loved him._

_The boy began to think. _

_If one were to become Hokage, even someone who is hated, would the villagers treat that person with respect as well? Would they bow to him, would they speak politely? Would they show him respect?_

_Would they acknowledge his existence?_

_It was on that day, in that moment on that swing, when the boy decided. He was going to be Hokage. No one would look down on him. No one would disrespect him. They would all acknowledge him as the strongest; as the best. One day..._

_Uzumaki Naruto was going to be Hokage. _

-xxx-

He gave the swing a gentle push. It creaked softly as it swayed back and forth.

"Look, Shinji-chan, what is your silly Oji-san doing now?"

The sudden voice was one that he knew well.

He turned to see exactly who he expected to see. It was Sakura, with Shinji tagging along a few steps behind her, holding on tightly to his mother's hand.

Naruto smiled as they approached, and he kneeled down and held out his arms for the young boy. With a gentle push from his mother, Shinji walked to him, and Naruto picked him up and twirled the now laughing child in the air.

"He can walk pretty far now, huh?" he said, finally bringing Shinji down to his chest.

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, and I'm the one who has to chase him everywhere. He was restless this morning, so I figured I'd let him wander around some."

"Haha…" Naruto laughed, "are you causing trouble for your mom, Shinji-chan?"

The little boy answered with a smile.

"I heard from Suki that Hikari-chan is a fast learner, too," said Sakura, taking a seat on the swing.

Naruto handed Shinji back to his mother, and she pushed off with her feet to rock the swing back and forth.

"Yeah," he replied with a laugh, "I think she started walking a little bit earlier than Shinji-chan did! I'll probably be able to teach her shadow clones soon. It might be pretty helpful if it turns out Shinji-kun has the sharingan…"

The back of Sakura's hand made contact with Naruto's chest, hard enough to make him grunt.

"Enough," she scolded, "You and Sasuke…you guys are already fueling a rivalry between them."

"Haha…we're just having a little fun," he assured her.

She seriously doubted it.

Shinji laughed out again as Naruto pushed them just a little higher, but a warning from Sakura made him hold back again.

This continued quietly for a few minutes until Sakura broke the silence.

"So, today is the big day, isn't it?"

"Yeah…I guess it is."

Sakura found herself smiling, incredibly happy for her long time friend. It wasn't just for the past ten years; he had worked hard his entire life. Making believers out of the doubtful, pulling people from the depths of darkness: that was what he had done to get here.

"You should thank Tsunade-shishou. She could have kept on going for another ten years, if she really wanted to."

"Gimme a break. That old hag just wanted to retire so she could go out drinking all the time together with that stupid Ero-sannin."

It was true, The Fifth was still perfectly able to running the village. But when Sakura had asked her why she was stepping down early, the Hokage's reply was, "He's ready. I know when it's time to step down and make way for a new, more capable leader."

As she was thinking, Sakura felt a thud as the swing's backward movement was suddenly halted. Holding Shinji tightly, she caught herself from falling. Looking back at what happened, she found Naruto jumping in place, clutching his leg.

"What happened? All of a sudden we just crashed into you!"

"Ow…" he whimpered, "I was just thinking about something, that's all."

So that's what it was. He had been thinking about something. In all the years she had known him, Sakura had learned that Naruto could actually be a deep thinker. Usually his mind was simple. But sometimes, when he thought about things that were important, he would dedicate his whole mind to it, which usually resulted in him becoming less aware of what was happening around him.

She laughed as he hopped on one foot. This man right here was a shinobi of considerable renown. The mere mention of his name could make enemy ninja panic. Young ninja everywhere aspired to be as strong and cool as this man. Yet here he was, looking like an idiot. Even though he had matured a little, it was nice to know that after all these years, Naruto was still Naruto.

"You see that guy over there, jumping like a maniac?" she told her son, "that's the person they call 'Konoha's one man army.' In reality, he's a pathetic guy, isn't he, Shinji-chan?"

"Sakura-chan…"

He seemed to settle down a bit, the pain from the collision fading. When he felt like he could, he set his foot back on the ground. He frowned at being seen in such an un-cool moment.

"Geez…nice job sitting there while an injured person needs your help. And they named you the head of Konoha's medical division…"

Sakura just laughed again. "Just what were you thinking about, anyway?" she asked him.

"There should be another swing here. Whoever thought to put a swing here by itself must've been pretty dumb. After all, it is much better to play with someone else than to sit here alone."

He held his arms up and demonstrated where his new swing would go, using his arms to outline the shape of it. Sakura also knew what the seat she sat in now meant to him. Back then, she often saw him sitting here alone, longing for a friend. Regrettably, she had also been one of the people who tried to avoid him at all costs.

"I think it's a great idea," she said to him, standing and holding Shinji in her arms. "Well, you shouldn't waste your time around here daydreaming, you know. I know you have things you have to do before the ceremony."

"Yeah…but taking a break is good for you," proclaimed Naruto.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Not if taking a break is the only thing you ever do. And besides, how can you take a break when you haven't even started yet, hmm?"

If she stuck around, he would only be distracted and never get anything done, and she trusted him enough to not have to stay at his side constantly to make sure he was doing everything he needed to. And so, she decided to leave him be for now.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he said, less than enthusiastic.

"We'll see you at the ceremony, then," she called back, helping little Shinji wave goodbye.

What she said was the truth. There was a lot of preparation to be done on his part. It wasn't like he was a stranger to hard work, but he felt like putting it off for a little while longer.

He bumped into quite a few people in his walk around the village, his friends who were all excited for him, especially those who had been his fellow genin so long ago. They were all full-fledged jounin now.

He bumped into Kiba first, who hollered something about never calling Naruto, _Hokage-sama_.

Neji and Hinata, the two leaders of the now un-separated Hyuuga clan were making preparations of their own, setting up a traditional clan ceremony that Naruto would have to take part in after the main one. The two of them offered him a quick congratulations, since they couldn't talk for long.

As usual, Shino seemed to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, but not before a small conversation regarding his last mission.

He ate lunch at Ichiraku with Chouji and Ino, and Ayame gave them free ramen to celebrate Naruto's accomplishments. Ino's skills helped her fit in as an elite spy, and Chouji had become a sensei to three very bright genin.

On his second time past the Academy, the kids were outside practicing. It looked like Shikamaru was in charge of the children today, so Naruto thought he'd go have a little chat. He asked him how Temari was coming along, and how big she was getting. Shikamaru just sighed and told him it was troublesome with her being so picky and changing her mind all the time.

His walk in the forest let him bump into Rock Lee, who had dragged an unwilling Ten-ten with him to do some training. She was already a member of Anbu, and Lee's test was only a few days away. Naruto knew that if he stuck around for long, he'd probably end up joining them.

The next meeting was not by accident. Konohamaru and the gang had come looking for him, eager to talk to him before all the formal festivities began. Among the three of them, Konohamaru was the only one who had made it jounin, leaving Moegi and Udon as chuunin. They were having a nice talk under a shady tree before someone else who had come looking for Naruto stopped by.

It was Sasuke, and Konohamru and the others knew to leave Naruto and Sasuke alone.

"I was sent by Sakura and Suki to see how your preparations were coming along," said the Uchiha, looking around to see what kind of work Naruto could be doing out here in the park.

"I was just about to get to it, but I just wanted to see what everyone else was doing."

"What do you think they're all doing, idiot? They're getting ready for the ceremony, like you should be."

"I know. I just wanted to kill a little more time before I got started," said Naruto.

Sasuke knew Naruto wasn't being lazy. This was an important day for him, and he needed some time to just think about it and reflect on what he had done to get here.

"Fine. Kill some more time. But don't blame me when you look like an idiot at your own ceremony because you weren't ready. I'll be in the first row, laughing," commented Sasuke. "I'll go back and tell them that you are almost done so they won't come bother you, but you'd better get a move on pretty soon."

"Got it."

Naruto was alone again, and he figured it was about time to get started. First, he had to head over to Tsunade's and make sure they got the whole procedure down. She and Jiraiya were probably waiting for him.

-xxx-

The entire place was packed. There was hardly an empty seat to be had; the entire village had come to witness the ceremony. The streets were barren, the shops were closed, and only a few unfortunate ninja who were assigned to the city's perimeter security were unable to attend the event.

The Kazekage was also in attendance, sitting with representatives from Suna right above the regular citizens and overlooking the platform.

Right in front of the stage were Konoha's council of elders, ready to foresee the appointment of their new Hokage.

As was customary, Tsunade emerged from the back first, and the crowd went quiet. Wearing her robes, she walked on stage with a single candle in hand. Following tradition, she spoke to the audience and the council.

It was almost his turn to go out there. Naruto was never good with procedure, so he was making sure he remembered everything he had to do.

"Don't tell me you're nervous…" Suki smiled as she watched her husband pace.

"When the Old Lady hands me the candle, do I take it with my left hand or my right?" he asked.

"You take it with both hands," she corrected, "and then you raise it over your head."

"Right. And then after that…" he mumbled on, trying to remember.

"Don't you remember? That's when you have to take off your shirt and dance around."

Her kidding brought forth a frown. She laughed at him and placed a single hand on his shoulder.

"You'll be fine. Don't think about it, just do it. You've always done things better that way, anyway."

"Heh. You're right," he said with a smirk.

"Of course I am, Baka-kun," she whispered intimately, entangling her fingers into his messy, blonde hair.

They leaned in for a quick kiss before they heard his cue from Tsunade.

"Go on," she urged him, and he smiled back at her as he left.

When he saw all the people staring at him, an overwhelming feeling rushed through his body. They were all here to see him. They were all here to support him and welcome him as the new leader of the village.

Naruto managed to locate most of his friends without effort. Sasuke and Sakura were directly behind the elders, with Shinji looking up from his father's lap. Akiko was with them too, pointing at Naruto to make sure Hikari was looking at her father. When she noticed him glancing her way, she mouthed something to him that he made out to be, _don't mess up_, and winked at him innocently.

He glanced up at Gaara. Even though the Kazekage wore the same stoic face as always, he could sense his happiness for him. Kakashi was seated to his left, but Naruto couldn't really read his expression with that dumb mask of his.

Coming to a stop at Tsunade's side, he could barely conceal his wide mouthed grin. She smiled at him, too, before they continued.

One at a time, each council member rose and bowed, giving Naruto their approval and blessing. Then, he had to recite the oath that only five people had recited before him. And then, Tsunade handed down to him the white candle, which symbolized the will of fire. With this, she was entrusting the future of he Konoha and all of its people to him. He gladly accepted it with both hands and held it high over his head for everyone to see. Remembering the proper procedure, he lowered it after ten seconds. He bowed to Tsunade, who, in turn, bowed to him. Then, he turned to the elders and bowed to them. Finally, he turned to his left and his right, bowing to the citizens and shinobi of Konoha.

And they all rose out of their seats, eyes facing his. As one, they bowed, recognizing him as their Hokage: their leader, protector, and caretaker.

His emotions were overflowing, taking the form of a huge grin as he swept the crowd and looked each and every person in the eyes. Those who knew him the best smiled along with him, knowing exactly what this moment meant for him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby approved by the council of elders, by me, the Fifth Hokage, and by all the witnesses here in attendance today to be the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure."

He kneeled in front of her, and she placed her hat onto his head. Following her cues, he rose.

Tsunade turned to the masses and declared, "I present to you the new Hokage!"

The barrier of silence was broken. A roar of cheering and applause erupted from the villagers. This was the beginning of a new era; it was a cause to celebrate.

Naruto just leaned in closer to Tsunade and whispered, "Can you say that again, one more time?"

He wanted to hear it again. He wanted everyone else to hear it again. He wanted Baine and Sato and Takahiro to hear it. He wanted his mother and father to hear it.

Tsunade nodded her understanding. She turned to the crowd and announced it one more time.

"The new Hokage: Uzumaki Naruto!"

-xxx-

It was late, and the festivities had died down. Everyone had already gone home: their house on the east side of town. Suki, Akiko, and Naruto sat in what was now his office. Sakura and Sasuke had just left. Suki had put Hikari to sleep hours ago, and without his playmate, Shinji had grown grouchy and tired.

"Wow, Maki-san," admired Akiko, "so this is going to be your place from now on, huh?"

The tower was now his home, along with Suki and Hikari. They had finished moving all of their stuff in yesterday, and they allowed Akiko to move in to the old house for free.

Naruto spun in his chair to face the lights of Konoha. The entire village was his responsibility. It was a big task, but he knew he wasn't alone. He owed so much to these two people. They had followed, supported him, and taught him so many things. With everyone's strength, Naruto knew that he, as well as the entire village, would be just fine.

"Suki, Aki-chan…"

Saying their names like that, the two women knew that he was about to say something he thought was important.

"We already know, Naruto. An idiot like you could've never made it this far without us," said Suki.

"And since you'll probably be an idiot for the rest of your life, we'll help you out if you ever need it," added Akiko.

Naruto smiled. "You're so stupid...both of you. That's not even close to what I was going to say."

"Hmph," both girls looked at each other, unconvinced, "such a dishonest guy."

"Well, I'd better get going. I don't know what kind of crazy things Hokage-sama is going to tell me to do tomorrow," said Akiko.

She knew that Naruto and Suki hadn't had much time to be alone today, so thinking of them, she called it a night and bid them farewell.

"Oh," Naruto caught her in the door, "I've got a job for you, so be sure to stop by tomorrow, okay?"

"No problem, boss!" she called back, "I'll be there!"

"Can you check on Hikari-chan before you leave?" Suki requested.

"Yeah. Goodnight."

With that, she left the new Hokage and his wife to themselves. They stared out at the village together, Suki leaning into him as they sat on his desk.

"Hmm…" she whispered, "so my husband is the Sixth Hokage…"

"That's right, so you'd better listen to everything I say," said Naruto.

"I'll be obedient, Hokage-sama," she dug her head deeper into his chest mischievously.

He held her closer; wrapped his arms around her to envelope her completely.

"Baka…" she murmured, closing her eyes and reveling in his warmth.

She opened them in surprise when she was lifted into the air, and he carried her back to their bedroom.

For various reasons, he was only able to manage a few hours of sleep that night, so in the morning, he wasn't exactly energetic. A Hokage's day started early: it had to in order to produce maximum productivity. He was still unready when Shizune came to knock on his door.

"Naruto-kun," she said brightly, checking in for the first of what would be hundreds of times, "it's time for you to get up."

"Shizune-nee-san, you're up already?" he said groggily, "I already told you this, but you work too hard."

He had never asked her to continue her service to the Hokage after Tsunade left. She could have gone and done whatever she wanted to, but she volunteered to stay and work for him.

"Come on! This is your first day as the Leaf Village's Hokage! I'm here to tell you you're schedule for today. You have a meeting with the Kazekage in an hour."

"Okay, okay…"

He kissed Suki on the cheek before climbing out of bed, and Shizune immediately turned away.

"N-naruto-kun! Your clothes!" she yelped.

"Eh? Oh, sorry, Shizune-nee-san."

"Nevermind! Just hurry up and get dressed. I'll be waiting in your office."

Shizune left the room in a hurry, and Naruto, still half asleep, clumsily put on his clothes. Slipping on the two precious pendants that had been given to him as gifts, he was finished.

Just before leaving bedside, however, Suki grabbed his hand gently.

"Do your best," she said simply.

Looking deep into her eyes, he smiled.

"Of course."

And he was off to live his dream.

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(Several years later)

The afternoon sun was hotter than usual for this time of year. Still, the almost unbearable heat could not diminish the playful spirit of two children. Playing together and running around the village, the two friends found a convenient pair of swings located under the cool shade of a leafy tree. From this spot in the Village, they had a clear view of the mountain; the faces of the Hokage looking over the city with watchful eyes. The two best friends looked at each other and laughed, knowing that the sixth face definitely looked a lot cooler than the actual person deserved.

"Hey, let's see which of us can swing higher," the girl challenged the boy.

"You're on," he replied, confident in his ability to win.

Both kids tried their best to go as high as they could, but the girl ended up falling backwards out of her swing.

"Hikari-chan, you're so clumsy," the boy laughed, letting his swing come to a stop.

"Shut up, Shinji-kun!" the girl cried, "The only reason I fell out is because I was going so high I was almost upside down!"

"Tch. You're such a liar. Now here, let me look at your head."

There was a decent sized bump right on her forehead, and Hikari winced when he touched it.

Shinji's hands began to glow, and soon the bump, along with the pain, was gone.

"My mom has been teaching me some medical ninjutsu," said Shinji proudly, "I'm getting pretty good, even though I can only heal bumps and bruises…"

"Oh yeah!?" came Hikari aggressively, "well my dad's been teaching me how to make shadow clones. I can already make five, easy!"

"I know, Naurto-oji-san let's you practice kage bunshin…My dad said I'm too young to be learning his fire jutsu," said Shinji with jealousy.

"That's no fun. Your dad can be strict sometimes," his friend agreed. "But even if you knew all the fire jutsu in the world, you'd never be able to beat me!"

Instead of firing back like Hikari expected, like saying that he always hits more targets than her when they practice shuriken with Akiko-oba-san, Shinji thought for a few moments before raising his eyes to meet hers.

"Hey, Hikari-chan. When we graduate from the Academy, let's be on the same team. That way, we can get stronger together."

She didn't know where this kind of talk had come from all of a sudden, but she thought it was a good idea, too.

"Fine," she said, "It's a promise."

The two of them hooked their pinky fingers.

That day, on the twin swings, two friends sat in the calm shade of an old tree. Much like the sun above them, the will of fire was burning strongly in Konoha.

-_fin_-


End file.
